


The Complete Story of Gay Teens in Knife Shoes

by trashqueen (gorgeouslyunderrated)



Category: South Park
Genre: Gay, Hockey AU, M/M, bunny - Freeform, creek - Freeform, figure skating AU, skating au, style
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeouslyunderrated/pseuds/trashqueen
Summary: Leopold "Butters" Stotch wants nothing more to make nationals and become a "good" figure skater. However, when he steps up for sectionals, he chokes and a nasty fall puts Leopold in a cast. Kenny is a hockey whiz who just wants to stay out of his house. When he comes across Leopold crying in the locker room, Kenny at first thinks he is a total loser. But, the more Kenny thinks about it, the more Kenny wants to get closer to Leopold.Tweek Tweak is a figure skating prodigy, despite his chronic nerves. Craig Tucker is the best defenseman youth hockey has ever seen. While both are incredibly good at their respective sports, they are terribly awful at dealing with their feelings for one another.Kyle Brofloski is just a kid who figure skates to stay out of trouble, or so his mom tells him. Stan Marsh is captain of the hockey team. Both have been best friends since birth, but that just makes being in love with each other so much more complicated.





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing Leopold awoke to every morning was the screaming of an alarm clock and a pounding in his head. The clock always read four-thirty and it was always pitch black out. Leopold would squint as he would pull on the clothes he laid out the night before. He never turned on the lights, he hated being blind while he waited for his eyes to adjust. After he was dressed, Leopold grabbed a rolling bag and a backpack and clambered downstairs. He would grab a granola bar before throwing his stuff into his car and pulling out of his driveway. 

 

He would arrive at the rink at four forty-five. He would wave at the owner before heading to the locker room. There he would warm up and put on his skates, all the while trying to fight off his impending sleepiness. In the next five minutes his two rink mates, Tweek and Kyle, would walk in. Tweek was a spazz with blonde hair that was _never_ brushed. It stuck up wildly in different directions. He usually had deep bags under his eyes that were accentuated by his pasty white skin. The kid’s green eyes always darted around wildly like he was going to be attacked at any moment. In his defense, it had saved him from some possibly lethal crashes on the ice. Leopold and Tweek were pretty close friends. They had been skating together since they were three. They had even started in the same learn to skate class. Tweek even went as far to bring Leopold coffee every morning from his parent’s coffee shop. So, this morning when Tweek walked in, he handed Leopold a disposable coffee cup without even saying anything. Leopold just nodded and smiled up in response before taking a big sip from it. 

 

Kyle was their other rink mate. He had bright red, curly hair that would poof into a mini afro. He tried the best he could to get it to sit down, but it never seemed to do what he wanted. He, as opposed to Tweek, was significantly more laid back and chill, but he did tend to lose his shit over school. He didn’t really care much for being particularly good at figure skating, he just needed something to do and he did genuinely enjoy it. Leopold wasn’t as close with him as he was with Tweek, but the three got along. They were some of the only figure skaters in their small town. Not even the girls figure skated; everyone just loved hockey here. Both the girl’s and boy’s teams were nationally ranked, the girls even out ranking the boys. While not getting any attention periodically bothered the three, they were glad that they didn’t have to share any of the free skate times with anyone else. 

 

After Leopold downed his coffee, he hit the ice for his five a.m. lesson with his coach, Mr. Garrison. The guy was a terrible person, but he knew figure skating better than anyone. He was also the only person in the entire town willing to coach the three after the previous coach moved when Eric Cartman from the hockey team kept shitting in her skates. No one, not even Eric, would dare mess with Mr. Garrison unless they wished a slow and painful death upon themselves. 

 

“Goddammit Butters, if you don’t bend more into your triple flip I swear to god I will shove a dead squirrel up your ass,” Mr. Garrison barked as Leopold landed flat on his ass for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. 

 

He also hated that nickname, but Eric Cartman gave it to him in elementary school and it stuck.Leopold was at this point used to Mr. Garrison’s threats and got up, skating into his entrance for his triple flip. As he reached his leg back, he bent his supporting leg as much as he could before launching himself into the air with his toe pick. When Leopold landed and swung his leg back for balance, he almost didn’t believe it. He hadn’t been able to land a triple flip for months. 

 

“See! You weren’t getting enough height to complete the rotations. Now do it again,” Mr. Garrison yelled, and Leopold entered and landed the jump again. 

 

After landing the jump a second time, Leopold could hear Tweek clapping for him. Leopold laughed and waved at the boy who was getting some practice in before his lesson. 

 

“Alright Butters, that’s it for today. Sectionals is next week, so run through your programs before school and rest your body,” Mr. Garrison said as Tweek skated over for his lesson. 

 

Leopold did as he told and after a short water break he began running through his programs. Leopold had qualified for sectionals by the skin of his teeth, but all he wanted was to make nationals. Leopold trained as hard as he could, going to the rink twice a day and doing off ice practice once a day. He knew he had a long way to go if he was going to make nationals, but he was determined to make it. 

 

…

 

After practice, the three boys would go to school together. Kyle always left them as soon as they got there for his best friend, Stan. Stan was on the hockey team, but outside of that he and Kyle were inseparable. Leopold and Tweek had a running joke that the two were secretly in love with each other and always raised their eyebrows at each other when Kyle waltzed off to hang out with Stan. 

 

Tweek and Leopold would walk in together, but they didn’t have any of the same classes so they would part at the first bell. Leopold spent his classes with his head down, trying to avoid Eric Cartman. Usually, he was okay. Ever since high school hit, Eric had left Leopold alone for the most part. That never stopped him from occasionally cornering Leopold and beating the shit out of him, calling him a fag the entire time. Leopold could always pass the bruises off as skating bruises and just tried to continue without causing another incident. Tweek never got picked on by Eric because he was best friends with Craig, who could take Eric in a fight with one arm tied behind his back, and Eric knew it. The same went for Kyle, who had Stan. Leopold, he had no one to protect him and so he was the fat boy’s punching bag. 

 

After school Leopold would go to the rink and work on his off ice drills and lift while the boy’s hockey team practiced. There was an indoor practice area and gym off the side of the rink, so Leopold could usually avoid the kids on the team while he was working out. When they were gone, Leopold had the ice to himself. He would drill his jumps and spins and his program until it was three hours later and he was dripping sweat. When the owner kicked him out, Leopold would go home, eat dinner, do his school work and then prepare to repeat the day over. 

 

… 

 

Leopold wanted to throw up. It was the second day of sectionals and he was currently sitting in last place after flubbing all of his jumps in the short program. Mr. Garrison had been so mad that he didn’t even sit in the kiss and cry with Leopold, he just stalked off. Leopold knew that he just _had_ to have a good free skate, even if it was just to redeem himself. But, Leopold was nervous. He felt worse than Tweek looked. 

 

As he stepped on the ice, he could feel his vision go blurry. He just had to keep it together. The music started and Leopold did too, but he could feel his legs shaking. He started his entrance to his first jump and as he launched himself he knew he was going down. He hit the ice hard and slid into the boards. Leopold let out a scream as he felt a pain shoot through his ankle. Leopold tried to stand regardless, but he immediately fell again, unable to hold his weight up. The music stopped abruptly as Mr. Garrison rushed on the ice. He pulled Leopold up, and with a surprising amount of strength, managed to carry him off the ice. 

 

Leopold was set on a bench as Mr. Garrison worked Leopold’s skate off. Leopold tried to hold back a scream as Mr. Garrison yanked his skate off. Tweek had rushed over and was now holding Leopold’s hand. Kyle sat on his other side and rubbed Leopold’s back. 

 

“Oh yeah, that’s broken,” Mr. Garrison said as he took a look at Leopold’s already swelling ankle. 

 

“Are your parent’s here?” Tweek asked. 

 

Leopold shook his head. His parent’s didn’t really care enough to come to his competitions. 

 

“I can take him to the emergency room. Stay with Kyle so he can skate,” Tweek said as he himself began to shake. 

 

Leopold wasn’t sure if Tweek was the right person to take him to the E.R., but Leopold wasn’t sure he cared as a wave of pain rolled over him. 

 

“I can help,” a voice came from behind Leopold. 

 

“Craig!” Tweek shrieked. 

 

“Let’s go,” Craig said, throwing Leopold’s arm over his shoulder’s as he helped Leopold up. 

 

Leopold used Craig as crutch as Tweek went to go get their stuff. Leopold was trying his best not to cry, but it was hard. He could feel a few tears slip down his face as he hopped out to his car, handing Craig the keys. Craig Helped Leopold into the back seat and climbed into the front to start the car. Tweek rushed in a minute later and they were off. 

 

…

 

Fractured left growth plate. It was clear on the X-rays. Leopold was going to be in a cast for six weeks. Six weeks of no skating. Leopold had lost the one thing that kept him sane. That night, Leopold had cried fro hours. He cried because of the pain, and because of his failure. He just wanted so desperately to be good, but he always failed. Tweek had made nationals that day, and was training harder than ever. He stopped by Leopold’s house to check up on him, but it was hard for Leopold to act cheerful. Tweek was the most nervous person Leopold had ever met and yet he could still make nationals. Leopold was a total failure and everyone knew it. 

 

After a week Leopold was fed up with sitting around, so after school he decided to go to the gym at the rink and work on just arms and abs. He couldn’t stay around his parents anymore and Leopold wanted to at least pretend he could do something skating related. Leopold did what he could, but it got to a point that even doing just arms put him in pain. The hockey team appeared to be long gone after practice and Leopold decided he could go get his stuff from the locker room now. 

 

Leopold sat down on a bench, reliving sectionals. He was worthless. How was he supposed to get to nationals if he couldn’t even get through sectionals without choking or hurting himself. Leopold felt himself tear up. He slammed his fist against the nearby locker and screamed “Fuck!” Leopold felt the tears roll down his cheeks and he pushed the heel of his hands into his eyes. 

 

“I’m nothing,” Leopold whispered in between sobs. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kenny McCormick was dirt poor. He lived in the outskirts of town in a house that was crumbling. There was no hot water and the only thing Kenny ever really had to eat was pop tarts. His father and mother fought constantly. It wasn’t unusual to hear screams and crashes coming from the McCormick residence. Kenny hated his house and he hated his parents. So, when he was a kid and his friend Stan offer for him to play ice hockey, Kenny took the opportunity. The team was willing to let Kenny play for free given his financial situation and Stan gave Kenny all of his old gear. 

 

Kenny was a natural. He guessed that years of pent up anger made for a good slap shot, and the coach was more than happy to have the wonder kid on his team. He and Stan even had a killer combo, the two working off of each other without even needing to talk. Soon the team was climbing the rankings, and the entire town would come out to their games. Kenny was just happy for an excuse to be out of his house. 

 

By high school, the entire hockey team had become stars. Kenny didn’t really care much about the so called fame, but he did enjoy the feeling he got when nailed a nice shot. He had been top scorer for three years straight, and Stan had the most assists of anyone on the team. Kenny put his entire life into hockey. After practice, he would go out into his drive way and hit shot after shot against a trash can in the street. It helped him drown out the screams coming from inside his house. He had even taught Karen, his little sister, how to shoot. 

 

Now, Kenny had his pick of anyone he wanted to fuck. Girls and boys alike would throw themselves at him and sometimes he would take them up on their offer, he was a growing boy after all. However, he never really had _that_ great of a time with them. Sure sex was sex, but Kenny wanted a more than that. He had earned a reputation of a heart breaker after the first couple people, but in all honesty he didn’t really care. He just cared about hockey. 

 

Kenny had stayed at the rink after practice to get some extra on ice practice. The owner said that the kid who usually had it was injured and he was willing to let Kenny use it for free until the kid was back. Kenny couldn’t complain about free ice and spent the time after practice running agility and shooting drills. Afterwards he would take a shower in the locker room before going back to hell. 

 

So, when Kenny heard a loud bang and scream, he tried not to call out. He didn’t know who was here but goddamn they need to not randomly bang on lockers. Kenny silently looked around the corner too see a boy with light blonde hair sitting on a bench sobbing. Kenny’s first thought was _what a loser._ But on second look he could see a cast on the boy’s foot. His hands were on his face so Kenny couldn’t really see who he was. Kenny was starting to feel for the kid. He knew that if he got injured and was put out of his sport he would be pretty upset too. Kenny realized this was probably the kid the owner was talking about, and Kenny made a mental note to check out the kid’s practices when he got his cast off. Kenny was about to walk to the showers when he heard the boy say, “I’m nothing.” Kenny stopped dead in his tracks. He almost went to go comfort the boy, but he didn’t. He forced himself to the showers, but he couldn’t get his mind off the boy. He couldn’t stop thinking about how fragile he was, yet he was strikingly beautiful even as he was crying his eyes out. Kenny mostly thought about how in that moment he had just wanted to hug and protect the boy. Kenny was seriously getting frustrated with himself. Since when did he care about how other people felt? Since now, apparently. 

 

…

 

Six weeks passed painfully slow for Leopold, but eventually he got his cast off. He was extremely happy to have the thing off, but extremely frustrated at how weak his ankle was now. That night Leopold went home and used a resistance band to restrengthen it. He was determined to practice again, so the next day after school he went to the gym and did more strengthening exercises. When the hockey team was done, he laced up his skates. Leopold was careful getting on the ice, feeling the shakiness in his left ankle. He spent the entire three hours working on edges and edge drills. His ankle could barely support him for those. After falling on a simple pattern, Leopold slammed his fist down on the ice. 

 

“Why?” He whispered before wiping his eyes and standing up, determined to get the pattern down. 

 

He continued like this for weeks, slowly but surely gaining back strength. He eventually started his practices with Mr. Garrison back up, but could still only throw single jumps. Leopold decided to start choreographing a program to keep his mind off his shortcomings. He figured it could just be for fun and it would be low pressure, something he could handle. He would practice it after school, and he had started to have a lot of fun with it. 

 

…

 

One day, after practice, Kenny saw the kid from the locker room lacing up his skates. Kenny quickly got undressed, telling his team to leave without him. Kenny stood in the door to locker room, somewhere he hoped the other boy wouldn’t see him. Kenny felt like a stalker, but when the guy started skating, Kenny couldn’t take his eyes off of him. The boy was only warming up and Kenny was still amazed at the grace he had. His face contorted in concentration, his blue eyes hard and focused. Kenny felt the breath leave his body when the boy entered a lay back spin. The more and more Kenny saw the boy skate, the less guilty he felt about spying on him. 

 

Kenny felt excitement grow when music filled the room and the boy began skating in time with it. Each movement was delicate yet strong. Kenny wondered how someone could move with such elegance. All Kenny knew was brute strength.

 

The boy skated by Kenny and the two made eye contact. Kenny was so wrapped up in the blue of the other boy’s eyes that he couldn’t even feel shame for watching him practice. The boy, on the other hand, was clearly flustered. He fell backwards and landed flat on his ass. Kenny rushed to the boards, not even caring that he was still in street shoes when he walked on the ice. 

 

“I am so sorry,” he said as he walked over, the boy sitting on the ice shell shocked. 

 

Kenny held out his hand and the boy took it gingerly. Kenny helped him up, and was surprised that even without skates on Kenny was significantly taller than the boy. 

 

“What are you doing here?” The boy stuttered out. 

 

“Oh, uh, well you see I stayed late from hockey and then I started watching you skate and well, you know, you’re really good,” Kenny rambled. 

 

Leopold looked down as he felt his face turn red. 

 

“Like that thing when you spun and grabbed your leg! That was so cool!” Kenny blurted out. 

 

Leopold couldn’t help but smile and laugh. 

 

“Well, thank you, I guess,” Leopold replied. 

 

“I’m Kenny by the way,” Kenny said, trying to play it cool. 

 

“Oh, uh, Leopold!” Leopold replied, smiling up at Kenny, lightly wringing his hands together. 

 

Kenny felt his heart stop when Leopold smiled. He seriously needed to get a hold of himself, but he hadn’t seen Leopold smile once and, damn, he was very attractive. 

 

“Oh, uh sorry to interrupt your practice though,” Kenny said, feeling a little sheepish as he began to shuffle off the ice. 

 

“Oh no it’s okay. I should probably call it a day anyways,” Leopold replied, skating alongside Kenny. 

 

Leopold put on his hard guards and Kenny stepped off the ice. The two made their way into the locker room. 

 

“Hey, uh, we should, ya know, hang out sometime,” Kenny said when the two had made it into the locker room. 

 

Leopold looked up from untying his skate with wide eyes. 

 

“You want hang out with me?” He asked confused. 

 

“Well yeah! Why wouldn’t I?” Kenny replied. 

 

“I don’t know. I guess no one has really wanted to hang out with me much.” 

 

‘Well, then, they’re totally missing out.” 

 

Leopold let out a breathy laugh as he turned his attention back to his skates. He pulled out scissors and began to cut of the tape he had on his ankle. 

 

“Well, you know Kenny I think that would be real fun,” Leopold replied, feeling his face heat up. 

 

“So that’s a yes?” Kenny asked. 

 

Leopold cracked a wide smile and nodded. Kenny smiled wide as he handed Leopold his phone and said “Go ahead and put your number in.” 

 

Leopold smiled as he typed in his phone number. He didn’t have anyone unrelated to skating or his parents as contact’s in his phone. Leopold felt giddy. He never really had a real friend outside of skating. 

 

Leopold felt his phone buzz. He looked at it and found a message from an unknown number. It read, _yo, this is the hottest contact in your phone._ Leopold cocked and eyebrow at Kenny who was grinning. 

 

“Really?” Leopold asked as he saved the number.

 

“What can I say, I’m beautiful,” Kenny teased, throwing his hands out to his sides. 

 

Leopold just laughed. He liked Kenny. In reality, no one really paid this kind of attention to Leopold. He hoped that he and Kenny would become good friends. 

 

…

 

The next day at school, Leopold felt awful. He stayed up most of the night texting Kenny, which he knew would bite him in the ass but Leopold really wanted their friendship to work out. When his four-thirty wake up time rolled around, Leopold felt like he had been hit by a truck. His head was groggy and his eyes felt heavy. Not to mention that at practice Leopold landed exactly zero jumps and he could feel bruises forming on his body, specifically his ass. Just sitting down caused Leopold to wince. 

 

Currently, Leopold was walking to his locker to grab his lunch. When he reached his locker he let out a wince as he came to a stop. He opened his locker and began shoving books inside and taking out the paper bag that contained his lunch. 

 

“Oh well, what do we have here,” Leopold heard behind him. 

 

He squeezed his eyes shut. Eric had left him alone while he was in the cast, but now that he was out Leopold knew that he would come for a punching session soon. 

 

“What do you want Eric?” Leopold groaned, trying to just walk past the boy. 

 

The guy was fat, and so a simple shuffle prevented Leopold from getting around. 

 

“I want you to stop being such a little fag,” Eric replied. 

 

“Can you please not say that?” Leopold sighed. 

 

This was routine. The two went through this conversation every time. 

 

“What are you going to do about it huh? Go crying to your little faggy boyfriend?” Eric countered. 

 

Leopold knew what came next, and braced himself. The punch came across Leopold’s face and sent him flying to the floor. Leopold gasped for air as the pain traveled across his face. 

 

“Leopold?!” Leopold heard from his spot on the floor. 

 

He felt his heart drop. Kenny definitely wouldn’t want to be friends with him after this. 

 

“Eric! What are you doing to Leopold?” Kenny screamed. 

 

“I’m teaching him a lesson about what happens to fags at this school,” Eric stated cooly. 

 

“You fucking fat ass! You don’t just fucking punch people,” Kenny yelled. 

 

“What? You got a boner for this twink?” Eric smirked. 

 

Kenny nailed Eric in the nose, effectively punching the smirk right off his face. 

 

“Stay away from my friend fat tits,” Kenny stated before kneeling beside Leopold. 

 

Leopold was still gasping for air. 

 

“Leo, oh my god are you okay?”Kenny asked as Eric stalked off. 

 

Leopold nodded. 

 

“I’m used to it. He does this all the time,” Leopold stated sheepishly. 

 

Kenny’s jaw tightened as he cocked his head to the side. 

 

“Well, he’s not gonna do it anymore,” Kenny ground out. 

 

“It’s okay really.” 

 

“No it’s not. You’re a competitive athlete, you’re body is already taking a beating without that fat ass.” 

 

Leopold smiled as Kenny helped him up. 

 

“Thanks Kenny, really,” he said. 

 

“Of course Leo! That’s what friends are for anyways,” Kenny replied. “Let’s get lunch together.” 

 

“Okay!” Leopold chirped, following Kenny to the lunch room. 

 

The two sat at a table by themselves. Leopold opened up his lunch and pulled out his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Kenny just opened some cheesy poofs. 

 

“Kenny is that all you have to eat?” Leopold asked. 

 

“Uh, yeah,” Kenny mumbled. 

 

Leopold placed his sandwich in front of Kenny. 

 

“Leo,” Kenny began. 

 

“Nope, don’t want to hear it. You’re an athlete too and if you’re body doesn’t get enough food, you will get injured,” Leopold stated. 

 

Kenny just laughed. 

 

“Who are you, my mom?” Kenny giggled. 

 

Leopold just blushed and laughed along. 

 

“Just eat,” Leopold said. 

 

Kenny smiled as he took a bite of the sandwich. Leopold opened the banana he had packed and took a large bite. After a while, Kenny broke the silence. 

 

“So, uh, I get it if you don’t want to say, but why does Eric pick on you so much?” Kenny asked. 

 

Leopold pulled his shoulders up. 

 

“Ah, well, it’s kind of complicated. He always used me and bullied me in elementary school and I guess it just carried through. I also figure skate so that’s something that’s good bullying material. It doesn’t help that he once, uh, let’s just say he caught me on a date,” Leopold said, his voice growing quiet

 

“A date? I mean I didn’t know Eric was so desperate to punch someone,” Kenny mused. 

 

“Ah well, it was with a guy and, uh, he caught us, you know, kissing,” Leopold whispered quietly, trying to shrink into himself. 

 

“I’m going to beat the shit out of that fat ass right this second,” Kenny said, standing up. 

 

“No, Kenny it’s fine. Really.” 

 

“It is not fine! That is not a good reason to beat someone up.” 

 

“It’s just how he copes.” 

 

“Leo, listen to yourself. You sound like an abused wife. There is zero reason for you to deal with this. In fact, the fat ass himself is a least a little gay—“ Kenny cut himself off. 

 

“I know.” Leopold replied. 

 

“Oh my god. You’re Butters?” 

 

“I hate that name.”

 

“Dude, Cartman is obsessed with you in the most sick, twisted way ever.” 

 

“I know.” 

 

“Leo, you can’t just sit and take his shit.”

 

“What am I supposed to do Ken? I’m too weak to fight him and I definitely can’t give him what he wants!” 

 

Kenny sat down and ran a hand through his hair. 

 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Kenny replied. 

 

Leopold smiled. 

 

“It’s okay Kenny. It’s actually nice to have someone who cares about my well being for once. Not to mention you’re not weirded out by the whole gay thing,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Dude, have you heard the rumors about me? I definitely do not care,” Kenny replied cracking a smile. 

 

Leopold smiled brightly at Kenny, and Kenny found himself blinded by Leopold’s brilliance. 

 

“Hey, are you practicing today?” Kenny asked, pulling himself out of his trance. 

 

“Yeah! I’m gonna try for my doubles today,” Leopold exclaimed excitedly. 

 

“Mind if I watch again? I don’t really want to go home and it’s fun to watch you,” Kenny replied. 

 

“Ah, gee, sure Kenny! Maybe you can help me with my form,” Leopold joked. 

 

Kenny raised an eyebrow and gave Leopold a dead stare. 

 

“Seriously?” 

 

Leopold couldn’t help but laugh and Kenny soon felt his composure break. 

 

… 

 

Leopold laced up his skates nervously as the hockey team filed past him. Leopold usually tried to avoid them because of Eric and their overall intimidation factor, but when he spotted Kenny he immediately felt relieved. 

 

“Leo!” Kenny exclaimed. 

 

“Hey Kenny! I’m gonna go get warmed up while you change,” Leopold stated as he stepped on the ice. 

 

Eric shoved him as he got on the ice, but Leopold managed to catch himself. Leopold didn’t even bother to look back and just skated away from the door as fast as he could. Halfway through his edge pattern, Leopold saw Kenny standing in the hockey bench. Leopold skated up to him and slid to a stop. 

 

“I still don’t get how you do that so gracefully,” Kenny said. 

 

“It’s not really that graceful. That stuff is just kind of mediocre,” Leopold stated, taking a sip from his water bottle. 

 

“Leopold Stotch!” Kenny gasped. “I never took you for a dirty liar, but I see now everything has been a scam.” 

 

Leopold laughed as he said, “Can it, Kenny.” 

 

Kenny just flipped him the bird, and Leopold returned the gesture as he skated back to the rink. 

 

Kenny was perfectly happy to sit back and watch Leopold skate. He really was amazing. Kenny didn’t understand how the boy was both strong and elegant, but he wore it well. He also wore those joggers well, but that was a thought for a different time. 

 

“Hey Ken! I’ve been working on a program, want to see?” Leopold called from the middle of the rink. 

 

“Hell yeah!” Kenny called back. 

 

Leopold laughed before he pressed a button on a remote and slid the remote across the ice and out of the way. The music was a soft piano piece. Leopold’s eyes softened as he began skating. Each move melted into the next. It seemed like Leopold was skating one long move instead of many strung together. When Leopold lifted his leg into a spiral, Kenny was not sure how the boy was so flexible. All dirty thoughts that were definitely running through Kenny’s subconscious aside, Kenny was just flat out impressed that the boy held a back split while hurling himself backwards down the rink on what was essentially a knife. When Leopold nailed a double toe loop right out of it, Kenny cheered wildly. Leopold didn’t lose his composure though, not this time. When Leopold hit his ending pose, Kenny stood up from his seat and clapped. 

 

“Holy shit dude! That was so impressive! You made that yourself?” Kenny asked. 

 

“Yeah,” Leopold replied, out of breath. 

 

“That’s amazing. You have some mad talent bro,” Kenny exclaimed. 

 

“It’s not that good. You should see Tweek skate, he just got his quad salchow.” 

 

“But Leo, I don’t want to see him skate, I want to see you skate!” 

 

“Alright, alright.” 

 

“Hey, Leo, there’s a home game this Saturday. You should come!” 

 

“I’d love to Ken!” 

 

Kenny felt his heart beat quicken. 

 

“It’s a deal then,” Kenny said, holding out his hand. 

 

“Deal,” Leopold replied, grabbing Kenny’s hand. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Stan and Kyle had been inseparable ever since the two could remember. They grew up as next door neighbors and would spend endless hours in each other’s backyards playing Lord of the Rings or super heroes. They were always by each other’s side, so much so that whenever someone said “Kyle” it was immediately followed by “and Stan” and vice versa. 

 

When Stan entered middle school, he started playing ice hockey under his father’s orders. At first Stan didn’t see the point. It was impossible for him to skate with any speed and the kids that had been playing since elementary school all ripped on him. 

 

“It’s so lame,” Stan complained to Kyle one day at lunch. 

 

“Then why are you playing?” Kyle asked. 

 

“I feel like I have to show those kids that I’m better than they think. Well, and my dad wont let me quit,” Stan grumbled. 

 

“Well, Stan, I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. You always do.” 

 

“Hey! Why don’t you join the team with me? Then we can be terrible together!” 

 

“Dude why would I want to do _that?”_

 

“Because you want to support your best friend in every way possible.” 

 

Kyle just rolled his eyes as he took a sip of chocolate milk. 

 

“Please!” Stan pleaded, pushing out his lower lip and furrowing his brows. 

 

“Oh my god, fine,” Kyle sighed, knowing that he would never convince his friend otherwise. 

 

That night Kyle had been signed up for youth hockey. He hated the pads and wondered how anyone could ever move in these things. At his first practice, he understood what Stan had meant. Kyle was an okay skater from previous times just messing around on Stark’s Pond, but the other kids skated circles around him, literally. He couldn’t say he didn’t have fun though, because he had Stan. The two were notorious for messing around during practice, either tackling each other or seeing who could inflict the most pain through the pads by hitting each other with their sticks. 

 

“Broflovski! Marsh!” The coach would yell about twenty times each practice. 

 

The two even spent one practice trying to see how many times they could get the coach to yell at them. They totaled it up to forty-seven in a one and a half hour practice. 

 

While the two dicked off often, Stan was still working his hardest. Kyle didn’t particularly care about how good he was; he was just there to hang out with Stan. Stan worked his butt off, though. It was probably the reason the coach never bothered to do anything more than yell at the boys when they were messing around. Stan was steadily climbing the ranks of the team, becoming one of the faster kids out there. Stan and Kyle would go out to the pond when they didn’t have practice and skate. Stan would usually work on agility or speed, and Kyle would just mess around and work on technical footwork. He had some of the prettiest footwork—but it wasn’t fast, which meant is was useless for hockey. He still had fun, and that’s all that really mattered to him. 

 

The time for the first game rolled around, and Stan was starting. Kyle cheered for his friend, but prayed he wouldn’t go in. He didn’t want his parents to see how bad he actually was at hockey. He couldn’t control the puck in the slightest and he was too slow to play defense. It was all around a bad combination. But, the rules in middle school hockey was that everyone received equal playing time. When Kyle heard “Broflovski,” he inwardly cringed. Begrudgingly he pushed himself onto the ice, not even looking in the direction of his parents. He and Stan fist bumped before the whistle blew. When it did, Kyle was totally lost. He swiveled his head back and forth, not quite sure where the puck was. This resulted in him getting tackled by a chubby twelve year old skating at top speeds. Kyle went flying and hit the ground hard. The arena grew silent and all that was heard was Kyle’s mom yelling “My baby!” and his coach screaming at the ref about the no checking rule. Kyle groaned as he stood up. 

 

“Dude, are you okay?” Stan asked as he skated over, worry evident across his face. 

 

“Yeah bro, just wondering what they feed that kid,” Kyle responded cheekily, smiling at Stan. 

 

Stan knew that look and he didn’t see it often. Now, Kyle Broflovski is a good kid. He has all A’s, never been to detention and was anal retentive about the cleanliness of his room. All this aside, every once and a while he did enjoy instigating a good scuffle or two—only when his best friend was around to back him up. 

 

Stan grinned back before saying loudly, “You know Kyle, for a second I didn’t even think he was human. I’ve only ever seen a cow that big.” 

 

Kyle cocked an eyebrow in a manner that read, _never heard that one before._ Stan just winked back. 

 

“What did you say about me?” The kid turned, his eyes narrowing at the two. 

 

“Oh, sorry, we weren’t talking about you, we were talking about your mother,” Kyle replied nonchalantly. 

 

The kid was big and slow when it came to fighting on a slippery surface. Kyle saw the punch coming a mile away and dodged it easily. Stan countered with punch of his own, knocking the kid’s helmet off of him. 

 

“Nice hit bro,” Kyle said as he followed up with a punch to bare skin. 

 

After that, it was a free for all. At that point both teams all got involved and there was mass chaos on the ice. Stan and Kyle laughed as they took turns punching wildly into the clump that had formed. However, the fight was broken up soon and the game called to a close. As Stan and Kyle skated off, Stan whispered, “Dude, you are the best friend ever.” 

 

Kyle just laughed, until he saw his mother. He had forgotten his parents were there and had witnessed the whole event. Stan tensed when he saw his parents. 

 

“We are so fucked bro,” Kyle whispered. 

 

Kyle’s mother marched up to him, her cheeks puffed out in anger and her face matching her red hair. 

 

“Kyle Broflovski! How dare you fight! You should know better than that!” She yelled. 

 

Kyle just rolled his eyes. 

 

“See Gerald! This is the behavior I’m talking about. This violent sport instills bad morals in our children. Kyle, you are done mister! You are no longer playing hockey!” She declared. 

 

Kyle and Stan looked at each other. Stan tilted his head towards Kyle’s mom with a pleading look on his face. Kyle just narrowed his eyes at his friend before turning back to his mother. 

 

“But Mom, I just love skating so much. You can’t make me stop,” Kyle replied. 

 

“Well, if you like skating so much, then we’ll get you started with the figure skating team. They need more members and it should teach you some grace mister!” 

 

Kyle froze. Being on the figure skating team was social suicide. He was sure even Stan would stop being his friend if he joined. But, his mother was already dragging him out of the rink by his ear. She had him signed up by the time they reached the car. 

 

That night Stan snuck over to Kyle’s house. He just had to know what happened. Was Kyle really joining the figure skating team? When he saw Kyle curled up in a ball, Stan’s suspicions were confirmed. He knocked lightly on the door, and Kyle looked up suddenly. He had red streaks down his face and his eyes were bloodshot. 

 

“What are you doing here?” Kyle asked, his voice raw. 

 

“I came to see what the fuck happened,” Stan replied, pushing his was through. 

 

“I’m on the figure skating team,” Kyle said, turning away from Stan. 

 

He was ready for the humiliation. He wasn’t ready to lose his best friend, but he sure told himself he was. 

 

“You know, you might be really good at it,” Stan chimed in. 

 

“What?” Kyle asked. 

 

“Well, you always liked doing weird footwork and it looked pretty, so maybe you’ll be good,” Stan elaborated. 

 

“Stan! The problem is not how good I’ll be!” 

 

“Then what is the problem?” 

 

“Dude! I’ll be the laughing stock of the school! No one will want to be friends with me.” 

 

Kyle crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders. 

 

“I want to be friends with you,” Stan stated. 

 

“Why?” Kyle asked. 

 

“Because we’re best friends bro. I’m not so shallow as to drop you because you figure skate,” Stan replied. 

 

Kyle relaxed as he turned back towards Stan. 

 

“Is that what you were so worried about?” Stan asked. 

 

Kyle sheepishly nodded his head. Stan just rolled his eyes. 

 

“God, you are so stupid sometimes,” Stan said as he walked towards Kyle. 

 

When Stan wrapped his arms around Kyle, Kyle momentarily froze before returning the hug. It was warm. It was home, for the both of them. That was the moment that Stan started to see Kyle as more than a friend. Seeing him so broken up over something so silly just because of him, it made Stan’s heart squeeze and then break. 

 

However, Kyle was in denial. In reality he had always felt like he and Stan were a little more than friends, but he passed it off as being “super best friends.” Now, with him forced into figure skating, Kyle had to try and pretend to be as straight as possible. It was the only way he felt he could balance out the sport. Sure, his heart sped up when Stan touched him, but no one had to know that. 

 

So, Kyle started figure skating lessons and Stan continued with the hockey team. The two still would meet up at the pond to skate. Kyle still messed around and Stan still ran agility drills. It was just like old times. 

 

Much to Kyle’s relief, no one at school really cared that he started figure skating. Well, everyone except Eric Cartman, but Kyle had been taking shit from him for so long it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Stan was still there to defend him when things got out of hand, so Kyle was content to continue as a figure skater. He found it to be extremely more fun than hockey, and enjoyed that he didn’t really have to associate with anyone while he practiced. He even picked it up pretty quick. 

 

Kyle always went to every single one of Stan’s games and Stan always went to every single one of Kyle’s competitions. Afterwards, they always had a sleepover at one of their houses, and for Stan and Kyle those were the best nights. Stan would spend the time sneaking glances at his friend and taking the opportunity to share more contact with him. Kyle, for the first year of this arrangement, spent the time denying the butterflies in his stomach. 

 

One night after one of Stan’s games, the two were laying in Stan’s bed—like they always did when they had a sleep over. Stan had fallen asleep and his chest rose and fell in heavy, even breaths. Kyle was wide awake. In his sleep Stan had wrapped his arm around Kyle’s torso and pulled himself ever so close to Kyle. Kyle was centimeters from Stan’s face, but he didn’t dare move. Because, in that moment, Kyle was coming to a realization he should have come to years ago. He realized that he didn’t want Stan to move. In fact, he wanted to be even closer to Stan. 

 

Kyle ever so slowly shuffled down, making sure that he didn’t wake Stan. When he was in a comfortable position, Kyle wrapped his arms around Stan’s waist and pressed his face into his chest. Kyle could feel his face turn bright red, and he was about to roll over and pretend he didn’t just cuddle his best friend, when Stan pulled him in tighter. Kyle knew there was no getting out of this now, so he just closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. 

 

When the two woke up in the same position, they didn’t say anything. They just continued on like everything was normal. Soon, cuddling while they were sleeping became normal for the two. But talking about what was going on was absolutely out of the question. Both didn’t want to risk freaking out the other, and so they continued their lives pining for each other. 

 

Kenny was the first one in their friend group to pick up on it. After practice one day, he managed tp catch Stan on his way out. 

 

“Yo, Stan, I heard that Wendy chick is really into you,” Kenny said. 

 

“Yeah, so what?” Stan replied. 

 

Kenny smirked. 

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. She’s not really your type anyways,” Kenny states. 

 

“What do you know about my type?” 

 

“Well, I’m pretty sure it’s red hair, green eyes and figure skater.” 

 

Stan stopped dead in his tracks, the rest of the hockey team long gone. 

 

“Bingo,” Kenny teased. 

 

“Kenny, you can’t tell _anyone,_ ” Stan gritted out. 

 

“Relax, dude. I’m not gonna tell him. But you should,” Kenny replied. 

 

“Dude, you know I can’t do that.” 

 

“You are so stupid.” 

 

Kenny just rolled his eyes and walked away. He knew that Kyle was into Stan too, but he wanted to see how these two idiots would get together on their own. 

 

… 

 

“Heya Kyle!” Leopold called out while he was lacing up his skates. 

 

Kyle had just walked in for morning practice.

 

“Hey! How’s the ankle?” Kyle asked. 

 

“Oh, uh, it’s getting better! I have a question for you though,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Okay, shoot.” 

 

“Would you want to go to the hockey game with Tweek and I this weekend? I know that you always go to see Stan, but if you don’t want to that’s fine!” 

 

“Sure, that’s cool with me.” 

 

Leopold smiled brightly as he continued to lace up his skates. Kyle didn’t particularly hang out with Leopold and Tweek that much, but he couldn’t hang out with Stan while he was playing so Kyle didn’t see why not. Who knows, maybe it would actually be fun. 


	4. Chapter 4

Tweek Tweak was what would be categorized as a classic spaz. His hair was always a mess as a result of him pulling at it and he shook and twitched. His brain was constantly running at a hundred miles a minute and he was always hyper aware of his surroundings. So, at a young age Tweek knew that no one liked him. The guys in his class kept him around because they never knew when they might need someone disposable. Not that Tweek minded too much—the inevitable heat death of the universe was a much more pressing topic for him. 

 

Craig Tucker couldn't give two flying fucks about diddly squat. He couldn’t care if people liked him or not. He spent most of his time flipping the bird to anyone who slightly gazed in his direction, yet he was still chronically bothered by the other guys in his grade. The only kid who left him alone was Tweek. 

 

Ironically, this apathy for each other was how to two met and eventually became friends. Craig decided to move tables since the kids at his, namely Eric, were annoying the shit out of him. Craig sat down at a mostly empty table, the only person there was Tweek. Tweek was busy picking through his sandwich and having an existential crisis over whether is was poisoned or not. Craig relished in the fact that he could just sit there and ignore Tweek and the other would do the same. Finally, Craig found a place where he wouldn’t have to be bothered with crazy, life threatening shenanigans that usually came with Eric and his group. Pretty soon, the two just sat at the same table together all the time. They would exchange hellos and then continue on with their lunches. 

 

When Craig entered middle school, he joined the ice hockey team. He didn’t particularly care about it, but his father seemed enthusiastic. Craig figured it would keep his father off his back and save him some trouble there. Now, Craig’s total apathy made him one heck of a defensemen. He never got angry. He never made any emotional fouls that often got other players thrown out of games. No, he just played cold and calculating. When his team scored, he would just shrug. When they were scored against, same reaction. 

 

One day at school, Craig happened to be wearing his team jacket. He sat down at lunch, like usual.

 

“Oh, you skate?” Tweek almost screamed, trying to keep his voice down. 

 

“Yeah. Hockey,” Craig said as he took a bite of his sandwich. 

 

“I-uh-I figure skate,” Tweek stuttered, ducking his head. 

 

“That’s cool dude.” 

 

Tweek just managed a yelp in the place of what was supposed to be a smile before the two of them went back to their usual silence. After that the two had started talking more and more, slowly becoming friends. Tweek would ask how Craig’s games went, which would earn him an apathetic shrug, and Craig would ask how Tweek’s competitions went, which would earn him a surprised shriek. 

 

Craig had gotten to the point where he actually looked forward to his lunches with Tweek. And Tweek, well, he was happy someone wasn’t ripping on him for being a spazz (although the impending doom of nuclear war did take up most of his thought processes). As the two entered high school, they started going to each other’s events. Tweek was at every one of Craig’s games and Craig never missed one of Tweek’s competitions. One time Craig skipped practice to go, and when the coach screamed at him for hours afterwards, he just flipped the bird and threatened to quit. That shut the coach up real quick, since Craig was a vital part of the team’s defense. 

 

The two had slowly but surely become best friends. Tweek had begun to mellow out, and while the inner workings of the Illuminati still had him wildly watching his back, he focused more on what was happening right in front of him. Namely, Craig. Tweek was, adimitedly, happy to finally have a friend that didn’t really give two shits about his end of the world ramblings. Tweek found himself pushing himself harder in skating, reaching for the triple axel and the eventual quad. He wanted to impress Craig. He wanted Craig to be proud he was his friend. Tweek sure was proud he was Craig’s friend; at least that’s what he passed the nauseous, guttural feeling that welled up in his stomach off as. 

 

Craig was still an apathetic asshole to everyone but Tweek. If anyone fucked with Tweek, they were as good as dead. Once, Eric decided that Tweek would be the victim of the day. He had started pushing Tweek and calling him a fag right in front of Craig. Craig’s left eyebrow twitched, which was about as close as the boy would ever get to an angry expression. Craig socked Eric in the face, sending him flying backwards onto his fat ass. He just sat up and cradled his cheek, which was already swelling. He could only muster a “fucking fags” before getting up and scurrying away. 

 

“Ah! Craig! I’m sorry!” Tweek screeched. 

 

Craig sighed before placing his hands on Tweek’s shoulders forcefully. 

 

“Tweek, you shouldn’t be apologizing. That fucktard is the one who should be apologizing,” Craig stated. 

 

“But, I got you involved in my business,” Tweek cringed. 

 

“Tweek, anyone picking on you is also my business. I will seriously fuck up anyone who messes with you.” 

 

Tweek just blushed as he gave a sheepish smile. Craig cracked an ever so small smile before ruffling Tweek’s hair and releasing him. 

 

“Thanks, Craig,” Tweek said calmly. 

 

…

 

Craig knew he liked Tweek. It was something that had just kind of slowly happened. He knew there was no point in denying it and doing so would be pointless. However, he knew that it was _definitely_ worth it to keep it a secret. He didn’t really care what other people thought of him and he could take anyone that would dare rip on him for liking dudes. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was the spazz that he was mildly infatuated with. Tweek would probably have a mental breakdown if he knew. So, Craig just kept it to himself and cherished the times he spent alone with Tweek. 

 

Craig did try to ever so slowly get Tweek to realize the hints. Right now, he was working on the whole very slight contact stage. Things like knees touching when they played video games or shoulders bumping during lunch used to make Tweek jerk back. Slowly, Craig had managed to do it enough that Tweek had just come to accept it as trivial and non essential to the end of the world. 

 

As of right now the two were watching T.V. in Tweek’s room. Both had just come from practice, but it was a Friday night so they had plenty of time to mess around. Craig had made it to the knee touching stage this time with no issues. He looked up to the sky quickly in a short prayer before he ever so slowly placed his hand on top of Tweek’s. Craig braced for the inevitable shriek that would come. When it didn’t, Craig blinked slowly and mouthed a small thank you to the ceiling. 

 

Tweek had to admit that the first time he felt Craig so close to him, he had been surprised. But, he guessed that was what best friends did. Stan and Kyle always seemed to be touching each other in someway so Tweek figured this was normal. In reality, he found himself craving more contact with Craig, so when he felt Craig’s hand on his own, he just ignored the heat rising in his cheeks and let it happen. Tweek couldn’t even think of any end of the world scenarios that could stem from this, all he could think about was what was happening right then and there. 

 

But, the moment ended quickly when Tweek’s door opened suddenly. Craig snapped his hand away quickly before whoever was on the other side could see what was happening. Tweek let out a surprised yelp. 

 

“Tweek, Craig, dinner is ready,” Tweek’s mom said from the door frame. 

 

“Jesus Mom! Don’t scare me like that! You could have been an assassin!” Tweek yelled. 

 

“Alright honey,” Tweek’s mom replied before turning from the door. 

 

As Craig followed Tweek out, he silently cursed. Although, he at least now knew that he could try it again. 

 

…

 

Tweek felt his phone vibrate and he picked it up to find a message from Leopold lit up across his screen. 

 

_Hey Tweek. Want to go to the hockey game with me this weekend?_

 

Tweek unlocked his phone before typing his response. 

 

_Yeah! Craig is playing so I was going to be there anyways._


	5. Chapter 5

The days leading up to the hockey game were filled with equal parts excitement and anxiety. On the outside, things seemed to go like they always did. Leopold went to practice and started to try triples again. He and Kenny would eat lunch together and hang out after Kenny had ice hockey. But, on the inside Leopold was freaking out. He was excited he _finally_ had a friend who seemed to genuinely care about him, and he was excited to see Kenny play. However, Leopold didn’t really do crowds well and he tended to try and avoid the ice hockey team as a whole whenever he could. Having Kyle and Tweek go with him helped to ease some of his anxiety, but there was always that nagging in the back of his mind. 

 

Right now that nagging had come front and center as Leopold was faced with age old dilemma of what to wear. Should he even bother trying to look nice for a sporting event? But what if Kenny thought he was a slob? Then again, what if Kenny thought he was a try hard? It had been going back and forth like this in Leopold’s brain for the last fifteen minutes. Leopold groaned as he flopped on his bed that was now littered with discarded articles of clothing. It really shouldn’t be this hard, but it was. 

 

Leopold went through about three more outfits before he settled on a long sleeved, blue button up shirt and some khakis. He left the shirt untucked and the top button undone so it didn’t seem like he was trying all that hard. 

 

When Leopold’s phone vibrated, he felt his stomach drop to the floor. He had a message from Kyle and one from Kenny. Despite the itch he had to open Kenny’s first, he looked at Kyle’s. 

 

_We’re here dude. Come out._

 

Leopold quickly typed back a thumbs up emoji before checking his hair in mirror and rushing out of the house. Kyle sat in his car with Tweek in the passenger seat. Leopold climbed into the back of the blue Subaru. 

 

“Let’s roll,” Kyle said as he pulled out and started driving in the direction of the ice rink. 

 

Leopold took a moment to look at the message from Kenny while Tweek and Kyle talked about the scientific backing behind crab people taking over the world. 

 

_Can’t wait to see you today._

 

Leopold felt his chest flutter as he read the words over and over, a little too flustered to really think of a good response right then and there. 

 

_I’m excited to see you play. Good luck!_

 

Leopold sighed as he hit the send button. He sounded like a mom. 

 

“Why do you even want to go to the game today?” Kyle asked, pulling Leopold out of his thoughts. 

 

“Oh, Kenny asked me to,” Leopold replied sheepishly. 

 

“Kenny? Hmm, well I guess you too have become friends lately,” Kyle stated, his eyes studying Leopold through the rear view mirror. 

 

Leopold couldn’t help but feel like Kyle was onto him. Luckily they arrived at the rink before Leopold could really think anything more about it. He hopped out along with his friends and they made their way inside. One would have thought that this was full blown NHL game. People were tailgating, coolers and portable grills lining each car. The sheer amount of people there was enough to make Leopold feel suffocated, not to mention the smoky smell of burning charcoal. Needless to say, the three skipped the tailgating part and started fighting their way to the entrance. 

 

“Man, people in this town are seriously desperate to party,” Kyle remarked as they pushed past an intoxicated man peeing in the bushes. 

 

Inside, the partying was contained since no alcoholic beverages were allowed inside, but that didn’t magically make people not drunk. Leopold squinted his eyes as one guy ran past him screaming with his shirt off. Tweek shrieked a little, but at this point he had become used to the hooligans that typically attended these games and was able to avoid a panic attack. 

 

“This is why everyone wants to nuke the U.S.,” Tweek said under his breath as the three finally found a seat in the bleachers. 

 

They were sitting all the way in the back and Leopold had a clear view of the rink. The teams were out warming up, but Kenny couldn’t make out who was who when they were wearing the bulky pads and helmet. Unfortunately, he knew who Eric was because being that fat is not easily covered up. Still, Leopold tried to search through the helmets and pads for Kenny. 

 

“Kenny is number ten,” Kyle said, reading the expression on Leopold’s face. 

 

“Ah, thanks,” Lepoold replied, focusing his eyes to try and find Kenny. 

 

When Leopold spotted number ten, he knew immediately that Kyle was right. First off, the body exuded confidence. Secondly, Kenny’s shaggy hair poked through the bottom of his helmet. Leopold watched with relative awe as the pre-game proceedings occurred. He hadn’t really done the whole team sport thing. Kyle and Tweek both explained what was going on and Leopold nodded his head along, sometimes pretending like he knew what they were talking about. 

 

When the game started, Leopold never took his eyes off Kenny. He played it off as if he was watching the game, but in reality he just wanted free license to basically stalk Kenny without looking weird. 

 

When Craig stole the puck and left the kid from Denver to eat shit, Tweek screamed “Yeah! Get ‘em Craig!” 

 

Leopold snapped his head away from the game to look at Tweek. 

 

“What?” Tweek questioned. 

 

“Nothing. I just did not expect that,” Leopold replied, cracking a cheeky smile. 

 

Tweek gave Leopold’s arm a hard shove before the two returned to the game. With a minute left in the first period, Stan scored the first goal of the game. Kyle cheered wildly and Tweek and Leopold looked at each other knowingly. 

 

“Why do you guys always do that when something involves Stan?” Kyle asked, having noticed their looks a long time ago. 

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tweek replied. 

 

“Like hell you don’t. Come on what gives,” Kyle pleaded as the second period started. 

 

Leopold looked at Tweek. 

 

“You have to tell him, it was your idea,” Tweek replied. 

 

Leopold rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. 

 

“We are pretty sure that you and Stan are secretly in love with each other but neither will tell other. It’s, like, the definition of being a useless gay,” Leopold stated. 

 

For a second, Kyle just sat there dumbfounded. 

 

“What?! Stan and I?!” Kyle spluttered. 

 

“Dude, we’re just putting together the evidence that’s in front of us,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Do you really think Stan likes me back?” Kyle asked as he pulled the other two closer, lowering his voice so no one else could hear. 

 

“Um, what?” Tweek asked. 

 

“Uh, Kyle, we do. But, we’re probably not the best judges and who knows really. We think you should go for it,” Leopold explained. 

 

“But, he’s like, my best friend,” Kyle countered. 

 

“Is he really? Or are you guys a little past that point?” Leopold questioned. 

 

“I don’t know,” Kyle replied, pulling at his green hat. 

 

“Dude, normal friends don’t practically cuddle at the lunch table in front of god and everyone,” Tweek spit out. 

 

Kyle turned red. Leopold just gave him a pat on the back. 

 

“It’s okay my friend, that’s what we’re here for,” Leopold assured. 

 

Kyle sighed and sat back, the three of them dispersing from their huddle. Just as they managed to get back to the game, Denver scored a goal. Craig gave his usual shrug while the rest of the team dejectedly reset. The second period ended with the score tied one to one. The fans were beginning to get out of hand, parents from both teams yelling at each other from across the stands. Randy Marsh started a fight, and Kyle rolled his eyes. 

 

At the start of the third period, Kyle glanced over at Tweek and said, “What about you Tweek? You got googly eyes for Craig Tucker?” 

 

Tweek shrieked before he slapped his hands over Kyle’s mouth, forcing Leopold to lean back to avoid Tweek’s flailing limbs. 

 

“Tweek, stop covering Kyle’s mouth. This should not be news,” Leopold stated, and Tweek slowly lifted his hands away from Kyle’s face. 

 

“I don’t like him. We’re just friends. We act no different than Stan and Kyle,” Tweek whispered. 

 

“Dude, we just established that Stan and Kyle are not ‘just friends,’” Leopold stated. 

 

Tweeks eyes went wide. 

 

“Oh. My. God.” 

 

“Deep breaths, Tweek,” Leopold said as he rubbed Tweek’s back. 

 

“Guys, I’m gay?” Tweek asked in a low voice. 

 

Leopold and Kyle both groaned outwardly. 

 

“And you said I was useless,” Kyle complained. 

 

“I take it back. Tweek wins the award for the most useless homosexual ever,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Guys, I’m gay for Craig,” Tweek whispered, already trembling. 

 

Leopold wrapped Tweek in a hug. 

 

“It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Okay but what if he doesn’t like me back god that would be so embarrassing I would be driven out of the town and have to live on the streets where I would be rapped by other homeless people and then I’d be arrested and someone would make me their bitch in prison and god guys I don’t want to go to prison I wouldn’t last a day,” Tweek said without taking a breath. 

 

“Tweek, none of that will happen. You can stay with me if it even comes to that,” Leopold soothed. 

 

“Dude, I’ve never seen Craig Tucker even change facial expression except when he’s around you. That’s something special,” Kyle added. 

 

“See? No big deal,” Leopold said. 

 

Tweek didn’t respond, and he still seemed pretty shocked at his sudden revelation. Leopold and Kyle found it pretty hysterical that it took Tweek until now to figure it out. Craig Tucker had not been the most subtle in his attempts to slowly warm Tweek up to him. Basically everyone knew; the girls even had bets placed for when they got together. 

 

Leopold refocused on the game, easily finding Kenny blazing down the ice. Stan had the puck and sent it flying to Kenny. Kenny received it and turned, shooting the puck at the goal as he did so. It hit the back of the net with a satisfying thunk, and the crowd erupted into cheers. Leopold, Kyle and Tweek even stood to their feet with the rest of the crowd as they cheered. Kyle and Tweek wrapped their arms around Leopold as the boys yelled. 

 

Leopold caught Kenny’s eye and gave him a thumbs up. Kenny threw his head back as he pointed at Leopold before leaving the ice. The gesture left Leopold’s heart beating fast and his cheeks red. Tweek and Kyle just looked at him with shit eating grins. 

 

“So, Kenneth is your type?” Kyle asked as they sat down. 

 

Leopold turned even redder. 

 

“I didn’t know that sexy hockey players were who you usually go for,” Tweek teased. 

 

“Dude, is that why Eric has been extra pissy these days?” Kyle asked. 

 

Leopold just dropped his head. 

 

“Dude, this is amazing. You’re the only person who can make that motherfucker truly hurt. He’s totally getting what he deserves,” Kyle said. 

 

“Aw, Kyle, don’t be mean. Eric just has some issues,” Leopold replied. 

 

“Um, Leopold, I’m with Kyle. Eric really treats you bad,” Tweek chimed in. 

 

“Yeah, I know. And, for the first time ever I’m safe, because I have Kenny. Eric doesn’t mess with me anymore. Not to mention, I have a friend now,” Leopold said. 

 

“Dude! What are we!” Kyle exclaimed. 

 

“Obsessed with your respective crushes,” Leopold replied. 

 

Kyle shut his mouth, unable to respond to such a bluntly accurate statement. 

 

“Well, I’m glad then,” Tweek said. 

 

Leopold smiled at him. 

 

“Dude, I’m gonna see if he likes you back,” Kyle schemed. 

 

“No, Kyle, don’t. I don’t want to ruin this so soon,” Leopold pleaded. 

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t mention you. Honestly, I probably won’t even have to ask him,” Kyle assured. 

 

The buzzer for the end of the game sounded, and the crowd cheered loudly. South Park had won, and the team celebrated. The trio began to move from their spots in the stands and shuffled out with the rest of the crowd. When the group reached the lobby area, Leopold quickly found himself alone as Kyle went to talk to Stan and Tweek went to talk to Craig. Leopold drifted to the edge of the crowd, trying to avoid looking as awkward as he felt. 

 

“Leo!” Cut through the crowd, and Leopold craned his neck to see Kenny forcing his way through people. 

 

“Hey! Great goal!” Leopold exclaimed. 

 

Kenny was sweaty and his blonde hair was plastered to his forehead. He had managed to get out of his pads and was wearing under armor shirt and shorts. 

 

“Thank you! I scored it for you,” Kenny whispered. 

 

Leopold just turned red as he looked up as Kenny. Kenny had to use all of his willpower not to kiss Leopold right then and there. He was absolutely adorable when he looked at Kenny with wide eyes. Kenny was quickly realizing that this boy was probably his greatest weakness. 

 

“Hey, Stan is throwing a victory party tonight. Wanna come with me?” Kenny asked. 

 

“Um, I don’t know Ken. I’ve never really been to a party,” Leopold admitted sheepishly. 

 

“That’s okay! I’ll pick you up so you don’t have to go alone and we can leave if you’re too uncomfortable,” Kenny said. 

 

Secretly, he was hoping to leave early with Leopold anyways, but he didn’t want to say that right off the bat. 

 

“Well, okay I guess,” Leopold sighed. 

 

“Great!” 

 

… 

 

“Dude! Nice goal,” Kyle said as he shoved his sweaty friend. 

 

“Thanks bro. I’m throwing a party tonight, you gonna be there?” Stan asked. 

 

“Of course. Or did you forget our tradition?” Kyle replied. 

 

“I was hoping you’d say that. I need someone to help me clean up after.”

 

Stan winked at his friend as Kyle punched him, laughing in fake betrayal. 

 

… 

 

“Great game Craig!” Tweek said, smiling up at his newly realized crush. 

 

Craig let a soft smile slip onto his face, and Kyle’s words rang in Tweek’s ears. 

 

“Thanks Tweek. Stan is having a party tonight. I know it’s not your thing, but you’re always welcome to come with me,” Craig replied. 

 

“Uh, Craig, I kind of want to go, like, with you,” Tweek whispered, barely breathing. 

 

Craig had to stop himself from really smiling. Craig Tucker didn’t smile, goddammit, but in that moment he really wanted to. 

 

“Of course. I’ll see you tonight,” Craig whispered back. 


	6. Chapter 6

Kenny prided himself on his ability to stay cool under pressure; it made him a great hockey player and a smooth operator. But right now, he was anything but cool. Kenny was shaking as he was frantically trying to get ready. 

 

“Kenny, you look like you go to catholic school,” Karen said as she entered his room. 

 

Kenny was wearing khakis that he had gone through the painful process of pressing with a white button up shirt that he had tucked in and buttoned up all the way. Both items he had managed to find at Goodwill for about two dollars each. 

 

“I’m losing it Karen,” Kenny stated. 

 

Karen just giggled as she held out a paper bag for Kenny. 

 

“I got you something that might help.” 

 

“Karen, you know that you should save your money for you and what you want.” 

 

Kenny sighed. Karen deserved the world and Kenny was determined to make sure she had it. Meanwhile, Karen was busy pulling out the clothes she had gotten for Kenny. They were of course from Goodwill, but they still looked decent. 

 

“Stop acting like a lovesick puppy and put these on,” Karen said as she threw the clothes at Kenny who was trying to style his hair in the mirror. 

 

Kenny rolled his eyes and put on the clothes. He was wearing khaki shorts and a pastel pink short sleeved button up shirt. He left the shirt completely unbuttoned and wore a white tank top underneath. 

 

“And the cherry on top,” Karen said as she hit Kenny square in the back with a baseball hat. 

 

Kenny put it on forwards and Karen let out a heavy sigh. She reached up and snatched it off his head, repositioning it so it was backwards and pulled his hair away from his face. 

 

“You know nothing about fashion do you,” Karen sneered. 

 

“Karen, I look like a frat boy,” Kenny replied, squinting at himself in the mirror. 

 

“Kenny, you’re a star hockey player and you have the best keg stand in all of South Park,” Karen stated wearily. 

 

“Okay. I see your point.” 

 

…

 

Leopold paced in his room. He was nervous, and it wasn’t the kind of nervous he had before a competition. No, it was entirely different. His legs were numb and he was pretty sure he was going to black out at any moment. His parents were luckily gone for the weekend, and they wouldn’t notice if he was gone tonight. That wasn’t what was bothering him. The thought of being with Kenny had him in this state. He knew he was fucked, like really fucked. It also didn’t help that this was Leopold’s first party ever, and the idea was making him kind of sick. 

 

The vibration from Leopold’s phone shook him from his self destructive freak out session. The screen was lit up with a message from Kenny. 

 

_I’m outside. Ready when you are._

 

Leopold took a deep, shaky breath. 

 

_On my way out. See you soon._

 

Leopold forced himself to move quickly before he could second guess himself. When Leopold got outside, he was met with Kenny waving to him from a very old, very rusty car that made grating noises. Leopold waved back and went to get in the passenger side. He had to yank pretty hard on the door to get it to open and when he got in, he noticed that the car had no seatbelts—just a piece of rope. 

 

“Sorry this thing is such a piece of shit, I stole it from a used car lot a while back,” Kenny said sheepishly. 

 

Leopold thought Kenny was joking, but a look at an ignition with no keys confirmed Kenny’s statements. 

 

“Dude, that’s _wild,”_ Leopold said, letting himself break out into a smile. 

 

“Um, thanks I guess,” Kenny replied, mildly dumbfounded. 

 

“Dude, you have to teach me to hot wire a car.” 

 

Kenny laughed as he began driving towards Stan’s house, the car lurching violently with every change of gear Kenny made. 

 

“I didn’t really take you for the car stealing type, Leo,” Kenny smirked. 

 

“Oh come on Kenny, you know how cool it would be if I could hot wire a car,” Leopold joked, the nervousness he was feeling earlier slowly melting away. 

 

“Touche,” Kenny laughed. 

 

They arrived at Stan’s relatively quickly, where it was clear the party was already in full swing. Cars were lined up down the street and the bass sent vibrations through the whole block. Leopold took a deep breath as he got out of the car. 

 

“You still wanna go? We can always just chill somewhere else,” Kenny offered, but Leopold shook his head. 

 

“I’m good Ken. Thanks though!” Leopold smiled. 

 

Kenny felt his heartbeat quicken, and he knew it was going to be extremely hard to get through this night without pulling a move on Leopold. 

 

The two walked into Stan’s house and were immediately blasted with loud music and the stench of alcohol. Kenny guided Leopold into the house, making sure to keep a close eye on him to make sure he was okay. However, he got sidetracked when the hockey team caught sight of him. They all surrounded him and pulled him in for “bro hugs.” 

 

Leopold slipped away from the scrum surrounding Kenny quickly. He was going to try and avoid any Eric Cartman contact as much as possible tonight. To Leopold’s surprise, he found Tweek standing in a corner looking wildly into the room. 

 

“Tweek!” Leopold called out as he got closer to the boy. 

 

Tweek visibly relaxed as he said, “Thank goodness you’re here. I lost Craig and I’m pretty sure that someone is going to rape me and leave me for dead in the woods and I’m not ready to die!” 

 

“Calm down Tweek. I won’t let that happen to you,” Leopold replied as he gently rubbed the other boy’s back. 

 

Suddenly Kyle burst out of the crowd. 

 

“Thank god I found you guys. Dude, I should be a spy, I have the scoop on both of your crushes,” Kyle panted.

 

Leopold felt his heart speed up as Kyle caught his breath, and Tweek tensed a little as his eyes came to a steady focus on Kyle. 

 

“Tweek, Craig is head over heels for you but thinks you’re going to freak the fuck out on him, which is valid. Leopold, yes. Just yes. Go for it.” 

 

Leopold turned red and broke out into a big smile. Kyle smiled back smugly. 

 

“Kyyyyllllleeeee!” Someone screamed out into the crowd. 

 

The trio looked up to see Stan standing on the table and very drunkenly looking for Kyle. Kyle sighed. 

 

“I gotta go babysit that fucker,” Kyle said. 

 

“Hey Kyle, make a move this time,” Leopold called after the red head, throwing a wink at the annoyed expression he got back. 

 

“Leopold, he likes me,” Tweek muttered. 

 

“Tweek, we’ve been over this. Everyone knows. People have bets placed on it, and if you want to help a brother out, get together tonight so I can cash in on Wendy Testerburger,” Leopold teased as he patted Tweek’s back. 

 

“You bet on me?” Tweek exclaimed. 

 

“Never in my life,” Leopold replied with a dead expression. 

 

Tweek just pushed him lightly, cracking a playful smile. 

 

“Would you look at what we have here, two faggots in a pod,” Eric Cartman sneered. 

 

Leopold and Tweek both turned to find Eric staring them down. Tweek shrunk behind Leopold, and Leopold resisted the urge to run. 

 

“Fuck you Eric,” Leopold said, suddenly finding his voice. 

 

“Excuse me? I don’t speak faggot,” Eric replied. 

 

“I said, ‘fuck you Eric!’” Leopold screamed. 

 

The entire room stopped and looked at the two of them. Leopold was ready to fight back this time. 

 

“Fuck Eric Cartman! Fuck Eric Cartman!” Someone started chanting, and the entire room started in on it. 

 

Leopold started laughing before he joined in too. He even went as far to raise the middle finger at Eric as he chanted, and others joined him with this as well. Leopold met Kenny’s eyes and Kenny winked at him. Eric just huffed and turned and left the room. People cheered and then went back about their business. 

 

“That was crazy,” Tweek breathed. 

 

“I know right!” Leopold yelled almost manically. 

 

Craig ran over to the two and said, “Tweek! I finally found you. I’m so sorry, are you okay?” 

 

Leopold silently slipped away as Tweek began explaining to Craig what had happened. He hoped Kyle’s insight would give Tweek some courage. 

 

Leopold caught sight of Kenny and smiled brightly. 

 

“Dude that was amazing!” Kenny exclaimed as he got closer. 

 

“I know! I don’t even know where that came from but it felt so good!” Leopold replied, smiling brightly. 

 

“That’s great! I’m glad for you,” Kenny said. 

 

Leopold smiled up softly at Kenny, and Kenny felt himself blush. 

 

“Hey Ken, let’s go dance,” Leopold whispered. 

 

Kenny swallowed hard before nodding and following Leopold towards the group of teenagers sloppily “dancing” in the middle of Stan’s living room. Leopold flashed Kenny a soft smile before he began to move his hips to the beat of the music. Kenny almost swore under his breath, but he managed to keep it in. Leopold was unsurprisingly an amazing dancer. Kenny was partially filled with amazement at the boy’s sheer talent, but the couple of beers he had already had were beginning to kick in and he felt his head begin to go fuzzy as he and Leopold got closer. 

 

Leopold was still hyped up on adrenaline from his encounter with Eric, and wasn’t really processing his actions. He was just going with the flow. He slowly wrapped his arms around Kenny’s neck, and Kenny’s hands snaked around his waist. 

 

Kenny was really having problems keeping himself from kissing Leopold right there. The way Leopold looked up at him through half lidded eyes was really testing Kenny’s willpower. But, he didn’t want to kiss Leopold for the first time at a party in from of the entire school. He wanted it to be special, Leopold deserved at least that much. 

 

“Leo,” Kenny breathed out. 

 

“Yeah Ken?” Leopold replied. 

 

“You wanna get out of here?” 

 

“Yeah sure. You want to go to my place? No one is home.” 

 

“Perfect.” 

 

Leopold followed Kenny out of Stan’s house. 

 

“I, uh, I can’t drive,” Kenny said sheepishly. 

 

“I can,” Leopold replied. “You can teach me how to hot wire a car now.” 

 

Kenny laughed as the two made their way to the car. After a crash course in hot wiring cars, the car was running and Leopold was trying his best to drive the ancient thing. He eventually got it going and they made it to Leopold’s house without getting in an accident. 

 

Leopold led Kenny in and upstairs to his room. Leopold grabbed a t shirt from his dresser and tossed it at Kenny. 

 

“PJ’s,” Leopold explained. 

 

“It’s cool Leo, I don’t—“ 

 

“Just change Kenny. It’s pretty late and I’m tired of being stuffed up in these clothes.” 

 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

 

Leopold laughed and began to get changed. Kenny froze as he was met with a shirtless Leopold. Leopold was surprisingly buff for such a small guy. Kenny could make out the outline of each and every muscle in Leopold’s upper body. Leopold caught Kenny’s gaze. 

 

“What?” Leopold asked. 

 

Kenny was speechless. 

 

“Uh, just, uh, wow,” Kenny stammered. 

 

Leopold laughed and walked towards Kenny. 

 

“Well, thank you I guess,” Leopold said. 

 

Kenny just nodded. 

 

“Hey Ken?” 

 

Leopold was close now, looking up at Kenny with those bright blue eyes, and Kenny really had put forth a lot of effort just to say, “yeah?” 

 

Leopold swallowed any feeling of nervousness or fear as he pushed himself up on his tip toes. He brought his hand up to Kenny’s cheek and closed his eyes right before he let their lips touch. 

 

Kenny felt like he had been shocked with electricity. When the two separated, all he could say was “wow.” 

 

Leopold just laughed. 

 

“That good huh?” Leopold joked. 

 

Kenny smiled and nodded. 

 

“I just, uh, well what I mean to say is, Leo, I like you a lot,” Kenny blurted out. 

 

“I like you too Ken,” Leopold whispered, smiling up at Kenny. 

 

Kenny leaned down and kissed Leopold again, and Leopold leaned up into it. This time when they separated, Kenny said “wow.” Leopold laughed. 

 

“Come on Ken, get ready for bed. I’m sleepy,” Leopold said. 

 

Kenny laughed and said, “Alright, alright.” 

 

That night, Leopold snuggled into Kenny’s chest and fell asleep faster than he had ever before. Kenny laid there relishing the moment. He tried to etch everything into his mind: Leopold’s smell, how he felt in his arms, even his heavy breathing. Kenny fell asleep thinking about how this had been what he was looking for, and it was perfect. 


	7. Chapter 7

Whenever Stan threw a party, Kyle knew that he was going to have to be responsible for him. Although, Kyle couldn’t say that he minded too much. Sure, cleaning up the vomit of his best friend wasn’t really on Kyle’s to-do list, but Stan was a _very_ affectionate drunk. Kyle really couldn’t miss a chance to let Stan hang all over him like his life depended on it. 

 

One of Stan’s favorite pass time was getting totally obliterated, solely so he could have an excuse to be close to Kyle. He did feel bad about all those times Kyle had to clean up his vomit, but when you start playing beer pong with vodka instead, things start getting really fuzzy, really fast. 

 

And so, both were thinking about what the night would bring as they set up in Stan’s living room. Stan was setting out the alcohol, and taking some warm up shots here and there. Kyle was stringing lights and queuing up a playlist. After Stan had drunkenly decided that playing “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf” on repeat was acceptable party music, he had been banned from ever being the DJ again. 

 

“Hey Kyle, you want a beer?” Stan called from the other room. 

 

“Yeah, sure,” Kyle replied as he jumped down from Stan’s couch. 

 

Stan walked into the living room and handed Kyle a can of Bud Light. 

 

“Dude, when are you actually going to get half decent beer?” Kyle asked as he opened the can. 

 

“Whenever my parents develop expensive tastes,” Stan replied. 

 

Kyle and Stan just laughed, because they knew that would probably never happen. 

 

Shortly after ten, people started piling into Stan’s house. Kyle was mid-argument with Eric when he saw Craig looking around the room. 

 

“Shut it fat ass,” Kyle said as he pushed passed Eric, ignoring the shouts coming from behind him. 

 

“Yo Craig!” Kyle called out. 

 

“Kyle. Have you seen Tweek?” Craig asked in his usual, steady tone, but Kyle sensed a hint of anxiety behind the cool facade. 

 

“No I haven’t bro. Actually, can I talk to you about him?” Kyle asked. 

 

Craig just raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Dude, so, we all know you like him,” Kyle started. 

 

“So what?” Craig questioned. 

 

“Bro, why haven’t you asked him out yet?” Kyle continued. 

 

“Have you seen Tweek? He’s a nervous wreck. The last thing he needs is for me to spring this on him,” Craig said in a low voice. 

 

“Or, maybe it’s exactly what he needs,” Kyle offered. 

 

Craig just scoffed. 

 

“That’s rich coming from you. Everyone, even you, knows Stan is a fucking love sick puppy for you. At this point you’re just dragging him along. Just fucking kiss already,” Craig stated coldly. 

 

Kyle stood there mildly frozen. What Craig said wasn’t wrong, but Kyle still wasn’t quite sure how to react to it being put so bluntly. 

 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Tweek is probably having a nervous break down and I need to find him,” Craig said as he walked away from Kyle. 

 

Well, at the very least Kyle had accomplished part one of his mission. He just had to find Kenny and finish the job.

 

Finding Kenny was not hard, considering that everyone loses their shit when they see him. All of the hockey guys all pull him in for bro hugs and yell out his name when they see him. Everyone else just looks on in wonder. The hard part was going to be getting Kenny alone. 

 

Kyle pulled Stan over and whispered in his ear “Dude, I dare you to crowd surf.” 

 

Stan just smiled crookedly before racing towards the hockey team. In the pure chaos that ensues when teenage boys have a bad idea, Kyle managed to grab Kenny. 

 

“Dude what’s up?” Kenny asked, obviously wanting to partake in the shenanigans. 

 

“I gotta talk to you,” Kyle stated seriously. 

 

“Yeah sure,” Kenny replied, bringing his focus to Kyle. 

 

“So what’s up with you and Leopold?” Kyle asked. 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“I didn’t know you guys were close.” 

 

“Well, we just kinda became friends. Why?” 

 

“You like him, don’t you?” 

 

Kenny tensed, and Kyle just cracked a smile. 

 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Kyle teased. 

 

“Dude that’s not the problem. The problem is my self control,” Kenny whispered. 

 

Kyle placed a hand on Kenny’s shoulder and said, “Dude, just go for it.” 

 

“Same goes for you,” Kenny replied, a smile stretching across his face. 

 

Kenny was called over by the hockey team to help out with Stan’s stunt, and Kyle just gave a wave. He spotted Tweek and Leopold and went over to tell them his findings. He wasn’t really surprised, but at least he could help them out. 

 

After relaying the unsurprising news to Leopold and Tweek, Kyle heard his name being screamed out of the crowd. Instantly he knew it was Stan—only one person would wail his name like that. He turned to find that Stan had managed to crowd surf to the table he was now standing on. Kyle was trying to devise a plan to safely get him down as he turned to leave Tweek and Leopold. 

 

“Hey Kyle, make a move this time!” He heard Leopold call behind him, and Kyle just rolled his eyes in response. 

 

When Kyle reached Stan, he still hadn’t come up with a plan. Stan was swaying dangerously as he shotgunned a beer, the entire hockey team cheering him on. Kyle just watched as Stan slammed the can on the ground, raising his hands in victory. Stan was going to be fucked up tonight, and Kyle hoped that Mrs. Marsh had restocked their bleach. 

 

“Kyle, I was looking for you. Don’t leave me like that,” Stan slurred, rocking back and forth as he stared down at Kyle. 

 

“That’s gay,” Clyde, a member of the hockey team, called out as the hockey team laughed at Stan. 

 

Kyle felt his cheeks burning, but he was used to the hockey team’s nonsense by now. 

 

“You’re gay!” Stan yelled back, sitting down on the edge of the table. 

 

Stan grabbed Kyle around his neck and pulled him in close. Kyle almost recoiled at the stench of alcohol that over took him, but he had enough experience with drunk Stan to be able to just grit his teeth and stand his ground. 

 

“You’re just jealous you don’t have a super best friend,” Stan stated, setting his chin on top of Kyle’s head. 

 

“This is not helping,” Kyle whispered under his breath as the hockey team burst out into more laughter. 

 

Before anyone could say anything else, a shrill “fuck you Eric” rang through the room. Kyle looked up to find Leopold standing in front of Eric, fist balled at his sides and cheeks puffed out in anger. 

 

“Stan, we have to stop this. This could be bad,” Kyle said. 

 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Stan replied as he used Kyle to steady himself as he stood up. 

 

“Fuck Eric Cartman. Fuck Eric Cartman,” Stan began yelling. 

 

Kyle quickly got the hint as he joined in, and he was relieved that everyone else at the party had started chanting too. Kyle must say, he was a proud friend when he saw Leopold hold up his middle finger at Eric. It was something the boy really needed to do, and Kyle gladly joined in. 

 

Kyle felt an arm slide around his back as Stan sat back down on the table. Kyle smiled as he turned to look at him. 

 

“Ya’ did good Marsh,” Kyle said, letting out a laugh. 

 

“Well, I’m glad I can do something right,” Stan replied. 

 

“Yeah me too. I thought you would be a screw up forever,” Kyle joked. 

 

Stan playfully pushed Kyle as Kyle let out a laugh. Stan couldn’t help but smile, his brain too fuzzy to come up with a witty remark. 

 

“Kyyyllleee, why are you so mean to me?” Stan drawled, draping himself over Kyle’s back, resting his chin on Kyle’s head again. 

 

Kyle just laughed. 

 

“Sorry, sorry, you’re just so easy to pick on.” 

 

“If you’re really sorry, you should make it up to me.” 

 

Kyle sighed, knowing that Stan’s ideas rarely ended well. 

 

“What do you want?” Kyle asked. 

 

Stan hummed as if he was thinking, but Kyle knew damn well that Stan had already pre-planned whatever he was going to say. 

 

“Dance with me. You have never once danced with me,” Stan stated. 

 

Kyle felt his face turn red and his blood run cold all at the same time. 

 

“Come on Kyle, have some fun. Stop worrying and relax a little,” Stan pleaded. 

 

“Stan, you and I have very different ideas of relaxing. Plus, can you even walk?” 

 

“Of course I can walk! I’m not even drunk.” 

 

Kyle rolled his eyes. 

 

“Yeah, sure you’re not,” Kyle replied sarcastically. 

 

“Kyle! Why won’t you dance with me? Am I not good enough?” Stan asked, tears welling in his eyes. 

 

Kyle turned to face him, tentatively placing his hands on Stan’s hips while Stan’s arms remained trapped around Kyle’s neck. 

 

“Fine Stan, but I’m a horrible dancer,” Kyle sighed. 

 

Stan’s eyes lit up as he pulled Kyle in for a hug. 

 

“Yes! Thank you Kyle!” Stan exclaimed. 

 

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just get this over with,” Kyle replied, feeling a pit slowly growing in his stomach. 

 

Stan happily, and without coordination, led Kyle to his living room. Kyle just stood there, unsure of what to do. His only dance training was classical ballet, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to start a barre routine at a high school party. Stan had started his classic move, which consisted of stepping from side to side and flashing finger guns at whoever walked by. 

 

“Come on Kyle, you’re supposed to actually dance,” Stan joked. 

 

Kyle just glared at him as he decided on shuffling from side to side. Kyle was not drunk enough to be out on the dance floor, while Stan probably wouldn’t even remember his horrible dance move. 

 

Kyle managed to catch a glimpse of Leopold and Kenny, and smirked when he saw them so close to each other. Stan followed his gaze, and then quickly turned back to Kyle. He leaned in close to Kyle and whispered, “That could be us but you playin’.” 

 

Kyle looked back at Stan shocked with his mouth hanging open. 

 

“Stanley Marsh, did you just ask me out with a _meme?”_ Kyle whisper yelled. 

 

“Hm, I guess I did,” Stan replied. 

 

Kyle turned and walked away. Sure, he wanted to go out with Stan, and Stan even asking him out in any fashion is a definite step up, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stoop down to that level. Kyle had standards, and drunkenly using a meme to ask him out was well below those standards. Not to mention that there was a high chance of Stan not remembering this night. 

 

“Kyle, wait!” Stan yelled grabbing Kyle’s shoulder just as Kyle had managed to make it to the front door. It was quieter in the entry hall, the noise from the party echoing in the background. Kyle could feel the tears welling up in his eyes as he turned to face Stan. He didn’t say anything, just looked Stan in the eyes with the fiercest glare he could muster. 

 

“Kyle I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—fuck—it wasn’t supposed to go like this,” Stan muttered, running his hands through his hair. 

 

 

Kyle turned to leave, still too angry to say anything. 

 

“No, Kyle!” Stan exclaimed, pulling Kyle to face him again. This time Stan didn’t bother trying to explain himself. He pulled Kyle in by the front of his shirt and crashed his lips onto Kyle’s. Kyle stood there frozen, eyes wide. He couldn’t believe this was happening. 

 

When Stan pulled away, he said, “Kyle, please.” 

 

 

“Wow, Stan, now you’ve kissed me in the middle of a party while you’re completely shit faced,” Kyle responded. 

 

Stan groaned and put his face in his hands. Then, he had an idea. 

 

“You, stay there. Don’t you dare move,” Stan said, pointing at Kyle. 

 

Kyle stood still mostly due to shock. He didn’t expect Stan to get so serious. Stan turned and ran back to the other room. Soon after the music cut out and Kyle heard Stan yell, “Alright, everyone out! Someone called the cops and they’re on the way!” 

 

Everyone scrambled to leave. Everyone knew the South Park cops would love to get their hands on a high school party, solely just for the pleasure of putting every single teenager in South Park in handcuffs. Within five minutes the house was empty and Stan was standing in front of Kyle, a determined look in his eyes. 

 

“I’m doing this again,” Stan stated as he grabbed Kyle’s hand and dragged him up to his room. Kyle’s heart sped up as his best friend drug him along, knowing full well that the cops were not coming and that Stan had ended the party just for him. Kyle felt adrenaline begin to rush through his veins as it dawned on him that Stan was really serious about this, and that it wasn’t just a fluke before.

 

Once the two were in Stan’s room, Stan shoved Kyle onto his bed and took a deep breath. Kyle looked up at Stan in awe, and then shock when Stan went down on one knee. 

 

“Kyle, please go out with me?” Stan asked, his face bright red. 

 

“Good lord Stan, please stand up. You look like you’re proposing,” Kyle stated as he yanked Stan up. 

 

“I just want it to be what you want,” Stan stated, tears evident in his eyes. 

 

Kyle sighed. 

 

“That last time, that was perfect. Thank you,” Kyle said, resting his head on Stan’s shoulder. 

 

Stan wrapped his arms around Kyle and hugged him tightly. 

 

“Is that a yes?” Stan whispered. 

 

“Yeah, it is,” Kyle replied, wrapping his arms around Stan. 

 

“I’m sorry I tried to ask you out with a meme.” 

 

“It’s okay Stan.” 

 

The room fell to silence and the two stood there hugging each other. Kyle nuzzled into Stan’s neck, choosing to ignore the scent of alcohol and focus on the faint smell of cheap cologne and detergent that was so distinctly Stan. 

 

“Kyle, can I try kissing you again? This time I’ll get it right,” Stan said. 

 

Kyle felt his face go red. Leave it to Stan to be blunt about these kinds of things. All Kyle could do was nod his head as he lifted it off of Stan’s shoulder. Stan gently cupped Kyle’s face as he leaned in. Kyle closed his eyes, allowing Stan to take the lead. The kiss was soft, but not short. Stan wanted to linger as long as he could, take in what it felt to _finally_ kiss Kyle. Stan felt like he could have stood there forever, lips lightly pressed to Kyle’s, but he was sober enough to understand that would be weird. Instead he pulled away slightly, forehead pressed to Kyle’s. 

 

Kyle was on an adrenaline high. He felt the same as he did after landing his triple axel. Literal ecstasy. Kyle could tell Stan was searching, looking for some sort of validation. Kyle leaned back up, pressing another kiss to his lips. Kyle could feel Stan smile into the kiss. It went like this for a while, lightly pressing kiss after kiss to each other’s lips—soft, slow, and full of affection. When they finally pulled away, Kyle whispered, “Damn dude, you kiss like a girl.” 

 

Stan laughed as he pulled away a little more. 

 

“I don’t see you complaining,” he shot back. 

 

“That’s right,” Kyle replied, leaning in for chaste kiss before walking past Stan to grab his overnight bag that he had left in Stan’s room before the party. 

 

“But, I’m tired and honestly I would like to enjoy the fact that you have not thrown up tonight,” Kyle teased.

 

“Hey! I’m sobered up!” Stan yelled, whipping around quickly and stumbling over his own feet. He flailed as he landed smack on his ass. Kyle just laughed at him. 

 

“Sure you are. Come on, lets go to bed and I’ll get you some pedialyte and McDonald’s tomorrow,” Kyle said as he helped Stan off the ground. 

 

“Bro, deal. That’s some good shit,” Stan said. 

 

Kyle laughed before changing. When he was done he found Stan staring into his dresser, clearly trying to determine what to wear. Stan had scrunched up his eyebrows and his eyes were hard, like he was trying to determine if someone was lying to him. Only Stan would take something as simple a pajamas so seriously. Kyle sighed as he walked over, pulling out a white t-shirt and closing the dresser drawer. 

 

“Put this on, or do you need help?” Kyle asked. 

 

“Well I don’t _need_ help, but I might want it,” Stan replied, attempting to wiggle his eyebrows. 

 

Kyle just rolled his eyes and turned to get into Stan’s bed.

 

“Rude!” Stan exclaimed as he changed. 

 

“Just hurry up, its cold in here,” Kyle complained. 

 

Stan just grinned as he jumped in bed, wrapping his arms around Kyle. 

 

“Better?” Stan whispered. 

 

Kyle responded by nodding his head, letting out a yawn as he closed his eyes. Stan set his chin on top of Kyle’s head as he also closed his eyes. 

 

The way they fell asleep was the same as it always had been for past sleepovers, but this time the two weren’t wondering if the other liked them—they knew that as a fact. That’s what made this sleepover the best of them all. 


	8. Chapter 8

“Craig, you can’t possibly be going to a party in _that_ ,” Tweek practically shrieked, waving his hands wildly at Craig. 

 

Craig was dressed in grey sweatpants that sagged over his Timberlands and a red hoodie that had “South Park Ice Hockey” plastered across the front. His black hair was still wet from his shower and he hadn’t bothered to brush it. 

 

“It could only be worse if you wore a groutfit,” Tweek breathed. 

 

“Groutfit?” Criag questioned. 

 

“An outfit that is only gray,” Tweek shot back. 

 

“Dude, that’s perfect. I should have done that.” 

 

Tweek groaned. 

 

“You really don’t care what people think of you, do you?” Tweek muttered. 

 

“Nah. In fact, sometimes I seek to do the exact opposite of what they want me to,” Craig teased. 

 

“I am well aware,” Tweek replied, giving another frenzied wave to Craig’s clothes. 

 

Tweek, on the other hand, was dressed in his dark khakis that complimented his teal vans, and a teal button up shirt to match. His hair was still a wild mess, but he had at least put in the effort to tame it and it was less crazy than usual. Although, he still couldn’t get his buttons to match up entirely right, he still looked better than Craig. 

 

“You’re one to talk Tweek, you can’t even get your buttons right,” Craig poked, shooting Tweek a shit eating grin that usually made Tweek freeze on the spot. 

 

“At l-l-least I tried,” Tweek managed to stutter out, trying his best to be unphased by the fact that the look on Craig’s face was downright _devious_ and that he was slowly approaching Tweek. 

 

“Well, you know what this calls for,” Craig smirked. 

 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Tweek gasped, scrambling back until he hit the wall. 

 

“Oh, but I would,” Craig whispered when he had Tweek cornered. 

 

What ensued was pure chaos. Sure, they were in high school and were supposed to have outgrown tickle fights, but Tweek’s shrieks of uncensored laughter were usually too rare for Craig to ever give them up. It was the most Craig ever heard Tweek curse too, and it kind of made him proud to hear the creative swears the boy could come up with. 

 

“You motherfucking dick slapping fucking tarded cock sucker!” Tweek screamed as he kicked Craig off of him. 

 

Craig just laughed. 

 

“Now Tweek, that’s not very PC of you,” Craig teased. 

 

“PC my ass you dickwad,” Tweek shot back, now curled up on his bed with his shirt completely unbuttoned. 

 

“Okay, come here,” Craig sighed, a smile still on his face.

 

“No, you betrayed me,” Tweek whined. 

 

“You want you shirt to look good or not?” Craig argued. 

 

Tweek just groaned as he stood up and walked over to Craig. Craig just smiled triumphantly as he began buttoning Tweek’s shirt. Tweek held his breath as he watched Craig’s hands, not daring to move an inch. Craig was impossibly close, and Tweek really hoped that he wouldn’t notice his blush. When Craig was done, he smoothed out Tweek’s shirt and patted his shoulders. 

 

“Better?” Craig asked. 

 

“Kind of,” Tweet replied. 

 

Craig just looked back at Tweek confused. 

 

“I refuse to be seen with you when you look like _that_ ,” Tweek clarified. 

 

“Dude, you make it sound like I’m ugly,” Craig replied. 

 

“Uh, well, you’re not ugly, but you are way underdressed for where we’re going,” Tweek whispered, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. 

 

“Well, if I’m not ugly then why bother.” 

 

“Just, let me pick out your outfit, please?” 

 

“Fine, but only because it’s you.” 

 

Tweek felt his face go hot and he turned away quickly, stiffly marching over to his closet. He rummaged around, trying his best to not get flustered. He focused on picking out an outfit. His hands fell on a navy blue, long sleeved Vineyard Vines t-shirt. It did have a figure skating whale on it, but it went perfectly with a pair of dark pink shorts he had, also by Vineyard Vines. He threw the articles of clothing at Craig and he emerged from his closet. 

 

“Dude, no way, only fruitcakes wear this shit,” Craig protested. 

 

“You should have thought of that before you decided to betray me,” Tweek replied. 

 

Craig let out a huff as he changed, Tweek looking at his fingernails the entire time. 

 

“Okay,” Craig huffed out. 

 

When Tweek looked up, Craig had put on the outfit plus his blue hat. The outfit looked great; that hat looked like fashion got sick one day and had it coming out of both ends. 

 

“No,” Tweek stated as he walked up and yanked the hat off. 

 

“No, Tweek, why? I like that hat” Craig complained. 

 

“You look like a retard with it on,” Tweek shot back. 

 

“Tweek! We signed a pledge not to use that word,” Craig gasped in fake shock. 

 

“Well, if the shoe fits,” Tweek mumbled. 

 

Craig just laughed as Tweek laid the hat on his desk. Craig’s hair stood up straight from Tweek pulling the hat off, and Tweek narrowed his eyes. 

 

“What now?” Craig groaned. 

 

Tweek just walked up and began styling Craig’s hair. Craig froze, trying his best to keep his cool facade despite the fact that Tweek’s touch might as well have been melting him. 

 

“Much better,” Tweek muttered when he pulled back. 

 

Craig’s hair now sat neatly and was slightly pushed back, a few baby hairs dropping on to Craig’s forehead and framing his face. 

 

“It was fine the way it was,” Craig frowned. 

 

Tweek’s face dropped, and he resisted the urge to slap Craig. 

 

“You are impossible,” Tweek mumbled. 

 

“I take pride in that,” Craig replied. “Come on, let’s go. The party won’t last forever.” 

 

Tweek nodded as Craig grabbed his hand and led him out of the house. They hopped into Craig’s car and he started it up. 

 

“You still sure about this?” Craig asked. 

 

“Now that you’re finally dressed right, yes,” Tweek jabbed. 

 

“I really don’t see what was wrong with what I was wearing,” Craig replied as he started towards Stan’s house. 

 

“Of course you don’t,” Tweek sighed. 

 

The drive to Stan’s house was spent singing along to the radio at the top of their lungs and making fun of how bad the other was at singing. They got there soon enough and had to park relatively far away due to the sheer amount of cars lined up down the street. Craig grabbed Tweek’s hand as they walked in. 

 

The noise was deafening and the smell of alcohol already had Tweek wanting to throw up himself. He gripped Craig’s hand tighter as they walked in. When the hockey team spotted Craig, they burst into cheers and ran up to him. Craig backed up and held Tweek’s hand tight. Tweek looked on, frozen in terror as twenty high school boys all rushed towards him. 

 

“Craig Tucker isn’t wearing sweats! It’s a miracle of God!” Clyde yelled out, and the hockey team all laughed. 

 

“Dude, isn’t that Tweek’s shirt?” Token questioned, pointing at the figure skating whale. 

 

In a moment of pure adrenaline and instinct, Tweek ran. He slipped his hand out Craig’s and worked his way to the nearest corner. The hockey team was all too happy to now engulf Craig. 

 

“Shit, Tweek!” Craig called, craning his neck over the other kids. 

 

“Bro, that’s gay!” Someone called. 

 

“Bro, I am gay. Now shut the fuck up,” Craig shot back.

 

The team went silent, and then erupted into cheers. 

 

“They grow up so fast,” Clyde whined, throwing himself onto Token. 

 

“Clyde, get the fuck off me,” Token deadpanned. 

 

Clyde just gripped onto Token tighter as he continued his fake melodrama about his “son” leaving the nest. 

 

Craig ignored his out of control teammates as he pushed through the crowd, looking for Tweek. Meanwhile, Tweek was beginning to dissociate. He was relieved to see Leopold walking his way, and felt himself begin to come back to reality. 

 

In the next ten minutes, Tweek would feel all extremes of emotions. It started with extreme relief. Leopold was calming and not being alone at the party eased Tweek back into a functioning human. When Kyle came tromping through the crowd and told him that Craig liked him, he was felt pure joy and giddiness. That feeling was quickly shattered by pure terror. Tweek hated confrontation, especially when it involved Eric Cartman. Tweek watched helplessly as Leopold told Eric off with astonishing bravery. Things came full circle with the feeling of relief as Eric left. 

 

Tweek whipped around at the sound of his name, and saw Craig pushing his way towards him. 

 

“Are you okay?” Craig yelled, placing his hands on either side of Tweek’s face.

 

Tweek felt his heart race as he nodded. 

 

“Thank god. This was a bad idea. You want to go home?” Craig asked. 

 

Tweek nodded again. 

 

Craig grabbed Tweek’s hand and led him out of Stan’s house. Craig never once let go of Tweek’s hand on the way back to Tweek’s house. Kyle’s words rang in his head. As Craig pulled up to Tweek’s house, Craig decided he would go for it. 

 

“Hey Tweek,” Craig whispered. 

 

Tweek turned his head, face red. Craig used the hand not holding Tweek’s to cup his face as he leaned in. When Craig kissed Tweek, Tweek went completely stiff. Tweek shrieked and pushed Craig away, basically falling out of the car as he frantically jumped out. 

 

“Tweek, wait,” Craig yelled but Tweek had already run inside his house. 

 

“Fucking brilliant,” Craig cursed as he hit the steering wheel. 

 

Tweek was sitting against his door, curled up on himself. 

 

“I’m so fucking stupid,” Tweek whispered. 

 

…

 

When Kyle and Leopold walked in for the Sunday free skate time, they were both shocked to see Tweek on the ice, sweat dripping down his face. 

 

“Dude, something’s wrong,” Leopold whispered. 

 

“Really wrong,” Kyle added. 

 

The two laced up as quick as they could and got on the ice. 

 

“Oh hey guys,” Tweek said as he skated up. 

 

“How long have you been here?” Leopold asked. 

 

“Oh, I don’t know I didn’t really sleep last night,” Tweek replied. 

 

“Bro, it’s six in the morning how could you possibly have gotten in,” Kyle asked. 

 

“I have a key,” Tweek stated. 

 

“Sit down,” Leopold said. 

 

“No, I’m good,” Tweek protested. 

 

“Now!” Leopold commanded. 

 

The three skated over to the hockey bench, Tweek bowing his head in defeat. 

 

“Now, would you care to tell us what happened?” Leopold asked. 

 

“No,” Tweek replied. 

 

“Let me rephrase, tell us what happened.” 

 

Tweek flinched at the harsh tone in Leopold’s voice. 

 

“Craig kissed me,” he whispered. 

 

“Isn’t that good?” Kyle asked. 

 

“I freaked out. I ran away,” Tweek mumbled. 

 

“Tweek, what the actual fuck?” Leiopold cursed. “Dude, you like him! You know he likes you back! It’s not rocket science!” 

 

“I know, but I just freaked. I didn’t want to! I wanted to kiss him back,” Tweek shouted. “What about you two? I bet you guys aren’t any different.” 

 

“Tweek, Kenny is currently in my bed waiting for me to get back,” Leopold stated bluntly. 

 

“Dude, even Stan and I managed to get together last night,” Kyle added. 

 

“I’m a failure,” Tweek whispered. 

 

“No, you’re not a failure, you just need some help,” Leopold soothed. 

 

“Hey, Craig? Yeah you need to come to the ice rink right away. It’s Tweek,” Kyle said into his phone. 

 

“Kyle, what are you doing?!” Tweek shrieked. 

 

“Dude, chill. You need to go home and you’re in no shape to drive,” Kyle stated. 

 

“Well played Kyle,” Leopold smirked. “Now Tweek, we still have to do our practice, but you’re done for the day. Go take your skates off.” 

 

Tweek didn’t have a chance to protest before Kyle and Leopold were both on the ice and warming up. Tweek sighed and made his way to his stuff. Just as he had finished packing up, he heard the door to the rink open. 

 

“Tweek, are you okay?” Craig said as he rushed in. 

 

He was still wearing the same clothes from the night before and he had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was almost as crazy as Tweek’s and his gray eyes glistened with tired worry. 

 

“Uh, yeah, I’ve been here like all night and Kyle and Leopold won’t let me practice more or drive home,” Tweek said with a weak laugh. 

 

“All night? Tweek what were you thinking?” Craig whispered, sitting down next to Tweek cautiously. 

 

“Um, mostly that I’d fucked up,” Tweek choked out. 

 

Craig stiffened before he wrapped an arm around Tweek. Tweek buried his face in Craig’s shoulder and held onto his shirt tight. 

 

“Hey, let’s get you home and I’ll make waffles the way you like it while you’re showering,” Craig cooed. 

 

Tweek nodded and gathered his stuff. Leopold and Kyle watched as the two left. 

 

“So, Kenny’s in your bed huh?” Kyle questioned. 

 

“So, you and Stan finally got together huh?” Leopold shot back. 

 

…

 

Craig silently made waffles, now changed into the sweatpants and sweatshirt he had worn over to Tweek’s house the previous night. Tweek’s parent’s were working, and so Craig was left to his thoughts.

 

He mostly wondered what the fuck was going to happen. Tweek was an unpredictable train wreck. Tweek could actually really like him, or he could just be desperate to keep Craig as a friend. Craig wasn’t really sure what to expect and the thought made him uneasy. So uneasy that he didn’t even realize Tweek was out of the shower until he felt the other boy warp his arms around Craig’s midsection and press his body against Craig’s back. 

 

“Those smell good,” Tweek whispered. 

 

“They probably taste good too,” Craig mumbled. 

 

“Hey Craig, can I say something?” Tweek asked. 

 

“Always.” 

 

“I really like you, like as more than a friend. And, I’m sorry I freaked out last night.” 

 

Craig sighed in relief as he turned and wrapped his arms around Tweek. 

 

“Yeah, I like you too,” Craig replied, resting his cheek on top of Tweek’s head. 

 

Tweek smiled as he tightened his grip around Craig. Craig let out a yawn, and quickly covered his mouth. 

 

“Craig, did you sleep any last night?” Tweek asked as he pulled back to look up at Craig. 

 

“Uh, not really,”Craig admitted. 

 

Tweek turned and dragged Craig upstairs. 

 

“Dude, go to sleep,” Tweek said as he pushed Craig towards his bed. 

 

“What about waffles?” Craig asked. 

 

“Later,” Tweek replied. 

 

“Tweek, there’s one in the maker now!” 

 

“I got it, I got it. Just go to sleep.” 

 

Tweek left the room and Craig just stood there, ready to rush down and help. To his surprise, Tweek came back up the stairs unscathed. 

 

“What did you do?” Craig asked suspiciously.

 

“Dude, chill, I just unplugged the waffle maker,” Tweek replied. 

 

“Tweek, you haven’t slept either,” Craig protested. 

 

“Yeah but I’m used to it. We all know you need your sleep or your mood gets even worse than usual.” 

 

Craig just huffed as Tweek cocooned him in blankets. 

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here when you wake up,” Tweek teased. 

 

“Tweek, fuck you,” Craig spat. 

 

“Maybe later,” Tweek laughed as Craig’s face turned crimson. 

 

Tweek leaned down and kissed Craig. Craig relaxed into the soft kiss. 

 

“I wanted to get that one right,” Tweek whispered and Craig just rolled his eyes as he failed to cover up the smile that crept onto his face. 


	9. Chapter 9

Leopold paced back and forth in the locker room, the sound of skaters crying about their performance or giggling about their win drowned out by the rush in his ears. He bounced up and down on his toes, testing his ankle. 

 

“Butters! Get your damn skates on! You have to warm up soon!” Mr. Garrison yelled. 

 

Leopold snapped his head up and nodded, making his way to his stuff. He was wearing his costume for his new short program, which consisted of black, skin tight pants and a billowing royal blue long sleeved top with a deep v-neck. His blonde hair was slicked back and his face was lightly made up. His hands shook as he pulled his skates out of his bag, causing his phone to come tumbling out. He picked it up, noticing that the screen was lit up with several texts. Leopold smiled to himself as he opened them, seeing that they were from Kenny. 

 

_Good luck! I’ll be in the crowd so don’t worry about all those other people, just focus on me ;) Also, you’ll be amazing no matter what, so don’t stress._

 

Leopold couldn’t help but relax a little. Kenny always managed to calm him down enough to function. Another text came in from Kenny. 

 

_I almost forgot, but, I love you <3 _

 

Leopold almost threw his phone at that one. It had been about seven months since they had started dating, but Leopold really hadn’t gotten used to Kenny’s declarations of love yet. He typed back a heart before put his phone away and focused on his skates. He did have to admit, he felt completely normal now. It felt like he was just going to practice. Just as he had managed to lace up his skates, his warm up group was called. Leopold was scrambling to put on his team jacket when Kyle and Tweek came up to him. 

 

“You got this bro,” Kyle said, clapping Leopold on the back. 

 

“I’ll be cheering for you! Oh, and I want to see the quad today,” Tweek said, a small glint in his eyes. 

 

“Tweek, Mr. Garrison said no,” Leopold protested. 

 

“Don’t you want to get back at him for how mean he is to us? He’ll be speechless if you land one,” Tweek countered. 

 

“And furious if I don’t. Plus I’m not _supposed_ to be throwing quads anyways.” 

 

“What do you call that jump you keep doing during free skate then?” 

 

“A quad toe loop.” 

 

Leopold sighed in defeat. 

 

“Plus dude, you have been landing it for the past month and a half. Not to mention, this is just a ‘warm up competition.’ You have nothing to lose,” Kyle piped up. 

 

Leopold just rolled his eyes as he turned to join the other skaters in his group. He waved behind him as his friends cheered. On the ice, he warmed up like usual. Took a lap, did every jump in his program as a single, double and then a triple, and then he ran through his spins. Mr. Garrison would occasionally yell pointers across the ice, but Leopold’s elements looked solid and so Mr. Garrison was relatively quiet today. A man announced that warm up was over and Leopold skated off the ice and put on his hard guards. He walked to the waiting area and got in line. He was slated to go last in the group, which was a horrible position for him. He would have to see every break through of the other skaters, every good score, before he even had to go. Leopold put ear plugs in, dimming the noise around him but not totally blocking it out. 

 

From his seat in the stadium, Kenny could see basically everything. He never took his eyes off Leopold, even after he had lined up for the competition. As the other skaters took the ice, Kenny began waving his hands to try and get Leopold’s attention. He finally caught his gaze somewhere about half way through the skaters of the group. Leopold smiled back with relief and waved. Kenny formed a heart with his hands and made a kissy face. Leopold smiled more. Kenny then opened his mouth and curled his hand, making the motion for a blow job and nodding his head. Leopold clasped his hand over his mouth, trying to keep himself from laughing. Kenny just smiled back. 

 

“What are you doing?” Craig deadpanned. 

 

“I’m wishing my Leo good luck,” Kenny retorted, turning to the two next to him. 

 

Stan just laughed. 

 

“I wished Kyle good luck before the competition,” Stan smirked. 

 

“Oh yeah Stanny boy? How?” Kenny countered. 

 

Craig slapped a hand over both of the boy’s mouths. 

 

“Stop, I do not want to know,” he stated.

 

“Damn Craig, your grip strength is unbelievable. Tweek sure is a lucky boy,” Kenny smirked, earning himself a rather hard punch to the shoulder by Craig. 

 

“Oh, oh shut up, Leopold is on,” Kenny said, slapping Craig repeatedly. 

 

“You’re the only one talking,” Craig replied. 

 

Leopold was feeling significantly calmer after his boyfriend had made a total fool of himself. In all honesty, Leopold was still giggling about how much of doofus Kenny was. He calmly stepped on the ice when his name was called. He nodded at Mr. Garrison, who clearly wanted to talk to him, but Leopold ignored him and skated to his starting position. He locked eyes with Kenny, who this time just gave him a smile and a nod. Leopold smiled back before focusing on the ice. 

 

Familiar piano music started, and Leopold began moving like the way he had so many times before. Kenny gasped when he heard the music. It was the program Leopold had been working on when they first met. Leopold had told him that Mr. Garrison wouldn’t let him use it, and Kenny had almost gone to “persuade” Mr. Garrison himself. Kenny just watched with sparkling eyes. The program was somehow more captivating than the first time he had seen it. 

 

Leopold just skated. He knew the moves, they were ingrained into him. He focused on how he felt skating the program. It was for Kenny, the guy who made him feel like anything was possible. Leopold wasn’t sure he would amount to anything until Kenny came along. Leopold had finished the program with the thought of Kenny in mind, and even changed some of the elements to make the flow better. When Leopold nailed his triple toe loop out of his spiral, he felt his confidence grow. Next was his step sequence, and he put every emotion he had into it. Leopold was beginning to really enjoy performing. His next jump was his second triple toe, the one where he had been putting a quad toe loop in when he was practicing. Leopold decided to go for it. Go big or go home, he thought. He pushed harder in his lead up, picking up the extra speed he would need. After his three turn he bent that extra amount and dug his toe pick into the ground with just the right amount of force. Leopold found his center and spotted his landing. With a satisfying thunk and the rip of a perfect edge, Leopold landed the jump. He threw his arms out for balance and held onto the landing a little longer, reveling in the first quad he landed in a competition. 

 

The program was almost over, and Leopold ended it with a combination spin. When he hit the ending pose, he could hear the crowd roar. He pulled out his ear plugs before bowing, wanting just this once to hear people cheer for him. As he bowed, he could see Tweek throttling Kyle at the edge of the rink. He looked up and found Kenny basically doing a victory dance. Leopold was greeted by his rink mates wrapping him in a hug as he stepped off the ice. 

 

“Dude! I told you! I was right!” Tweek exclaimed. 

 

“Oh man, dude, I never thought you would _actually_ do it!” Kyle chimed in. 

 

Leopold just laughed. 

 

“Butters! I can’t believe you did that! What if you hadn’t landed it? What if you had gotten hurt again?” Mr. Garrison barked. 

 

“But I did land it, and I’m not hurt,” Leopold countered. 

 

“I know. Good job. But I’m going to kick your ass in practice on Monday!”

 

Leopold flinched as he made his way to the kiss and cry to await his scores. He pulled on his jacket as his score was announced. He did a double take at the score board, not able to believe _that_ was his score. Emblazoned on the score board was an 80.12, the highest score Leopold had ever scored in his lifetime. 

 

“Now, scores like that will get you into nationals,” Mr. Garrison stated. 

 

Leopold just smiled. He could hear Kenny screaming like he was at a hockey game. 

 

“Just stay focused, you still have the free skate tomorrow. If you win this competition, you’ll definitely be on track for nationals,” Mr. Garrison added. 

 

“Oh, I’m going to win this,” Leopold stated. 

 

He picked his stuff up and made his way to the locker room. He unlaced his skates and got changed. He hurriedly left and made his way to the lobby. He found Kenny waiting for him, and he picked up his pace when he saw him. He jumped in to Kenny’s arms, wrapping himself around the taller boy. 

 

“Did you see that?” Leopold exclaimed. 

 

“Dude, I didn’t blink so I could see the whole thing,” Kenny replied, hugging Leopold a little closer. 

 

Leopold leaned up and lightly kissed Kenny on the lips. 

 

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

 

“For what?” Kenny replied, a soft smile on his face. 

 

“For everything.” 

 

Kenny just rolled his eyes. 

 

“Oh yeah, hold on. Weren’t you not allowed to use that program?” Kenny asked. 

 

“Oh, um, I wanted it to be a surprise for you. I made it with you in mind, so, uh yeah,” Leopold whispered. 

 

Kenny just pulled Leopold in tighter and spun him around. 

 

“Oh my god that is the cutest thing ever!” Kenny exclaimed. 

 

Leopold just laughed. Kenny smiled back and wrapped his arms around Leopold’s waist once he set him back on his feet. 

 

“So, you have this thing won then?” Kenny asked. 

 

“Uh, no, I still have the free program tomorrow. Anything can happen,” Leopold replied sheepishly. 

 

Kenny looked up and hummed thoughtfully. 

 

“Well, I’ll cut you a deal then,” Kenny said as he leaned in close to Leopold, looking at him through his eyelashes. “You win tomorrow, and I’ll give you the best night of your life.” 

 

Leopold looked down and turned bright red. He bit his lip, and looked back up with a determined hardness in his eyes. 

 

“Oh, then I’ll win,” Leopold stated. 

 

Kenny felt electricity run up his spine. It was a look he had never seen on Leopold’s face, but, oh boy, did he want to see it more. Leopold smirked, before unwrapping himself from his boyfriend’s embrace and sauntering to the locker room. Leopold looked over her shoulder and said, “see you tomorrow?” 

 

Kenny smirked. 

 

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t miss it.” 

 

…

 

Leopold felt strangely calm for his free program. Maybe it was the promise Kenny had made him, or maybe he was flying high on his success in the short program. Either way, Leopold was a man on a mission and he would be damned is anything got in the way of it. He put everything he had into his free skate, nailing every jump and captivating everyone in the crowd with his stunning performance. 

 

Kenny sat in the stands mesmerized as his boyfriend floated across the ice. He had no words to describe the beauty and elegance Leopold exuded, not to mention how _well_ the tight red and black costume fit Leopold. When the program ended, Kenny felt like he had been snapped out of a trance and he quickly scrambled to his feet to cheer for Leopold. 

 

Leopold had been the last to skate, and his score would finalize the results for the competition. He sat in the kiss and cry, anxiously awaiting the judge’s final decision. When the results were announced, he at first heard the cheers of the audience before he even registered the number. It was a 180.89, putting him solidly in first place and qualifying him for nationals. Leopold jumped up and screamed, unable to control the wave of sheer adrenaline that rushed over him. Mr. Garrison just sat in pure disbelief as Leopold pumped his arms. 

 

Kenny jumped out of his seat when he saw the score, cheering wildly. He looked down at Leopold, and managed to catch his eye. Leopold winked at him, and Kenny only grinned back suggestively. As Leopold walked out of the kiss and cry, Kenny left the stands and raced to the lobby. Shortly after, he saw Leopold rushing down the hallway. Kenny met him halfway and picked him up, pressing kisses all over Leopold’s face. 

 

“You did it!” Kenny exclaimed. 

 

“I know! This is crazy!” Leopold replied. 

 

“I knew you could do it.” Kenny stated nonchalantly. 

 

Leopold threw his head back and laughed. 

 

“Hey Kenny?” Leopold whispered.

 

Kenny hummed back in reply, pulling Leopold close. 

 

“I love you,” Leopold finished.

 

Kenny grinned and kissed Leopold hard. 

 

“I love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow guys, sorry it has been so long since I've updated! Things have gotten a little crazy. This story is also coming to a close! There are two more planned chapters, so look out for them, but it is time to wrap this story up! Thank you all who left reviews and kind words, I really do appreciate it. I hope you guys stick with me through other works as well. ~Ciao


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